The Aftermath
by Reptile Princess
Summary: Lisa showed Tyler her true self. This is the aftermath of that event.
1. A Choice

**Author's Note: I don't own V. They belong to their production companies and the actors and writers and directors... bla bla bla... Go ahead, flame if you want. I don't mind... really, I don't. Although I don't _encourage_ you to flame... do we understand each other? Good. Hope you enjoy! (Hope you enjoy is another way of saying reviews, please.) **

"There is always a choice. You just have to be able to see it."

Tyler's entire body shook, his hands felt numb. They twitched as he tried to start up his motorcycle. The key wouldn't go in. Tyler's head was throbbing, his vision was blurry and he felt like he was going to throw up and cry at the same time. He was going insane. This wasn't real. Lisa couldn't be a... no, Tyler forced his eyes shut and tried to block out the word. He didn't want to think of the conversation he just had with Lisa. This wasn't real. Lisa couldn't be... what she was. He was dreaming, he had to be dreaming.

"'Cmon, work.," Tyler muttered, trying to put the stupid key in to start up his motorcycle. Anger coursed through him, flooding every blood cell in his body. No, it wasn't anger. It was fury,

"Work, goddammit!" Tyler yelled, he tried to calm down. How hard was it to put a key in a hole? He sighed, his breath coming out ragged. Tyler closed his eyes and opened them. The key slid in easily. He turned it and the beautiful machine roared to life, producing a glorious sound that reflected his own rage. Tyler had to get out of here. Away from New York, away from the spaceships and Lisa and the rest of the lizards. Away from everything. His motorcycle purred under him. Tyler didn't care if he got a ticket or if he broke the speeding limit. That's why they were there in the first place, to be followed and then broken. He rode off into the streets of Manhatten, not knowing, or caring where he was going.

* * *

Lisa stood frozen in place, unable to move. She was too afraid to think, blink, or even breathe. What were the consequences of what she had just done? Why did she do it? Lisa answered these questions herself. He had to know. He was probably going to find out soon anyway. He left her. He said that he had to clear his head. But he would be back, wouldn't he? Wouldn't he? This question repeated over and over in Lisa's head. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. She was going to collapse at any moment, burst into millions of pieces, never to be put back together again. Either that or she would burst into tears and curl up on the ground. No, she wouldn't. Lisa wouldn't be broken by him. Only her mother could do that. _Keep your emotions hidden. Walk, Lisa. Walk forward and don't look back._ Lisa told herself. She barely noticed or felt her legs touching the pavement. The rest of the world was hazy to her. She decided that she would walk and see where she ended up. Maybe it wasn't the most intelligent idea, but it was the best that she could think of.

* * *

The world became a blur. Tyler didn't even see the colors flying past him as he pushed his bike past the limit; it was all one color. Tyler didn't pay attention to anything around him. He still felt like he was dreaming. Maybe if he crashed into something it would be enough to wake him up. He wasn't dreaming. Tyler felt like he was in between worlds. He was at a point where he didn't know if he was awake or asleep. The only thing that was on Tyler's mind was _her._ Not her. The real _her._ Those golden eyes. Her teeth like daggers waiting to rip his throat out. But if she had wanted to would she have done it already? Probably. Her _skin_. Tyler felt a cold chill crawl up and down his spine, and it wasn't from the wind. He slowed his bike down and pulled off to the side of the road. It was deserted except for him. He was about pretty far from Manhatten by now. He didn't know how long he had been riding. Tyler pulled the key out of the ignition and banged his head repeatedly on the handlebars. Tyler had forgotten his helmet. He tried to sort things out in his head. _I am awake. Lisa is a lizard__. Why didn't she tell me before? Because she didn't think I'd stay? Does she think I'm a shallow bastard? I'm not going to leave her forever. Just long enough to figure this crap out!_ Tyler had that feeling in your gut when you know you're about to cry. He slammed his head on the handlebars, hard. He grunted from the pain in his head. Tyler gritted his teeth and looked up slowly. He would have to fill up on gas sometime soon if he was just going to keep riding nowhere. Tyler had to choose a destination. Not a final one, but a destination nonetheless. A place where his life had turned upside down in an instant. The place that had changed his life forever. Maybe the pain from that would overcome the pain he was feeling now. Tyler turned on his bike again and got back on the road. He knew where he had to go.

* * *

Lisa felt she had walked this path before but she couldn't place when she had. It didn't matter anyway. What was there to fight for when Tyler was gone? Nothing. Without him there was nothing. There was no point in fighting anymore. It would be so easy to die. All she had to do was take a quick trip up to the mothership, find her mother, and have an emotional breakdown in front of her. That would seal her fate. Then Tyler would be sorry. Lisa bit back the urge to cry. She felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach and something was weighing heavily on her was making it hard for her to breathe, like someone had ran her through with a sharp blade, taking part of her with it. It wasn't really a pain, it was more of an emptyness. She felt that she was missing something but she didn't know what it was. Lisa turned a corner and realized why it felt so familiar; in a few more blocks she would reach _his_ street. Lisa stopped walking. She had nowhere else to go, so why not? _Because of his mother. If she found out that Tyler left... _Lisa didn't know what Tyler's mom would do to him, but it would be interesting to see, and maybe it would be good to talk to someone else. Lisa started walking again and pushed away the pain that threatened to consume her. Tears began to fill her eyes but she blinked them back hastily and kept moving forward.

* * *

Tyler slowed his bike down then sped up as he turned a corner. He sighed and let the memory come to him. It was better than thinking of Lisa, and yet worse.

_"Is that why you left, so you didn't have to raise someone else's kid?" Tyler asked, the anger rising in his voice. _

_"No,Ty, I love you." His dad said gently. Tyler backed away. Then he left, with Lisa tagging along with him. They didn't say much to each other on the ride home. Tyler dropped her off at the Peace Ambassador Center and told her he was sorry for everything. She had said that there was nothing to be sorry for and went up to the mothership. Tyler had nowhere to go except home, where he stayed until his mom came back from work. Just hearing her voice had made his blood boil. How could she cheat on his dad? Then she lied about it, saying that she never did. _Oh, sure you didn't_. he had thought. Then the next day... _

A smile tugged at Tyler's lips as he thought of the shuttle and then he felt sick as he reminded himself that Lisa was a lizard. It was one of the first things he thought of when Lisa had told him... no, he wasn't going to remember the last conversation they had. He wouldn't. _Well one good thing came out of this, at least she isn't knocked up._ Tyler thought and then had a horrible image of a half lizard half human baby. It's golden eyes and green skin and sharp fanglike teeth. Tyler shuddered and growled. _Damn lizards. Dammit, I just damned Lisa. _Lisa shouldn't be damned. But still, she didn't tell him. It felt as if the dreamlike state had burned away, but instead of leaving ashes behind, it left anger. Tyler wished that there was another road to go down, but there wasn't. Tyler slowed to a stop. Tyler wondered if he made a wrong descision about coming here. He took a deep breath and rode as fast as he could down the street and past his dad's house.

* * *

Lisa stood at the door of Tyler's house, fist poised and ready to knock_. Knock, Lisa. Do it. It is not that hard_. She thought. Lisa sighed, closed her eyes, and knocked three times. She guessed, and silently hoped, that Mrs. Evans wasn't home. Sadly, she was mistaken. Erica opened the door and smiled.

"Lisa, come on in. Is Tyler with you?" Erica asked. Lisa was frozen in place, the mention of Tyler's name sent her mind into chaos_. Do not be weak. Be strong. Do not even think for a second of letting your emotions show. Hide them._ Lisa told herself. She couldn't move. Lisa slowly shook her head. She was afraid to open her mouth because she would probably start crying.

"Lisa, what's wrong? Where's Tyler?" Erica asked, concern flooding her eyes. The walls she tried to build to block out her emotions were slowly crumbling. She had to fortify them somehow. Lisa tried her hardest to hide her emotions, to cover them up and ignore them. She had never felt this way before. Never this much pain. Lisa didn't move, she was afraid that if she did the walls would break. The emptiness wasn't as bad now, the pain not as much. She wouldn't let her emotions show, not this time. Lisa kept trying to strengthen the walls, to be untouchable. That's what she would try to be for the time being, untouchable.

"Lisa." Erica repeated.

Lisa fought back every emotion she could and opened her mouth to speak but she found that she couldn't. If she spoke then her voice would tremble, if her voice trembled she would cry, if she cried she would break. Lisa was so fragile. For a moment, when Lisa had helped blow up her mother's eggs she had felt invincible; no, she hadn't helped that much. Although she had gotten Joshua out of his blue prison cell. _Joshua_. Lisa was disgusted with him. The little... what had she heard Tyler say once, paisley? Lisa tried to ignore the pain in her chest as she thought his name. Pansy! That's what it was. Joshua was a pansy. Why didn't he just kill himself? Maybe because it was looked upon as an act of cowardliness. Lisa would rather have Joshua dead then have him be as he was now. Emotionless, the hollowness in his eyes that never left. The way he worshipped her mother. For a while he was the only person she could go to for help. He was her confident, the person that she could go to if she was confused about her emotions. He was the father she never had. But now he was just like the rest of _them._ Just like the rest of her mother's followers. Whenever she looked at him it made her sad. But whenever Lisa was around Ty... No... She wasn't going to think about him. Instead she realized that she was feeling a little bit better. Maybe Lisa could talk without giving her emotions away. Lisa looked at Erica, who looked as if she was going to shatter as well, but not from pain, from anticipation. Lisa took a shaky breath and walked past her. Erica closed the door and Lisa turned around. _Bravery comes to you at the darkest of times._

"He...," Lisa began but found herself about to cry again. "left."

"What do you mean he left? Why did he leave? Where'd he go?" Erica asked. Lisa shook her head and gritted her teeth.

"I told him."

"What?"

"The truth. I told him and he just... left. I don't know where he went or when..." Lisa closed her eyes, in an attempt to stop the oncoming flow of tears. Her lower lip trembled.

"You showed him... and he just left?," Erica asked. Lisa nodded. "I'm going to kill him." The way she said it made it believeable. Lisa's eyes went wide for a moment then remembered that humans didn't actually _kill_ their children. They were just punished severely. It was used in a metaphorical way. Erica pulled Lisa into a hug. Tears began to fall from Lisa's eyes.

"Don't worry. He'll come back," Erica said, then in a darker tone. "They always do... I'm going to see if i can get ahold of _him._" Erica walked into the kitchen to call her son. Lisa curled up on the couch. She listened closely to the phone conversation. His number was being dialed. The phone rang a few times. He wasn't answering. Lisa tried to block out the noise. She couldn't listen to his voice, at least not now. Instead, she focused on her pain. There was an emptiness that couldn't be filled, a weight that threatened to crush her, and an aching that filled her entire body. When Lisa thought of him or even his name, it felt like a slap in the face. Erica's voice repeated in her head. _Don't worry. He'll come back. They always do._ Lisa heard Erica talking in the kitchen and felt it was safe to listen again. She was dialing a different number. The phone rang a few times until someone picked it up.

"Hello?" It was Tyler's dad. Lisa felt her heart sink. If only she hadn't listened in on that phone conversation.

"Joe. It's Erica. Is Tyler there?"

"No... but why-"

"Have you seen him at all?"

"I think he went by here a few minutes ago, but I wasn't sure... why would he come here anyway, Erica?"

"Because, he has nowhere else to go."

"Are you sure he's not with his girlfr-"

"Yes, she's sitting right here. I don't know where the hell he went so if you thought you saw him, could you make sure that it's him?"

"Does she know where he went?"

"No. Look, just find him, okay?"

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you later. If you were Tyler where would you go?"

"I don't know, I'm not Tyler."

"Think of the last place Tyler would be."

"In a gay bar."

"No, Joseph! I'd better go. Find him. Now."

"Hold on... I think I know where he might be."

"Great. Have him call me if you find him." The line went dead and Erica hung up the phone and walked into the living room.

"Lisa, are you hungry? There's some leftover pizza in the fridge." Erica offered. Lisa shook her head and the weight threatened to press her to the couch. _Pizza. Of course, it had to be pizza. _It was what _Tyler _and her had eaten on their first date. Lisa gritted her teeth and didn't want to think of the memory. She forced herself not to cry. Crying was a sign of weakness.

"I don't know why I did it. What was I thinking? That he would be _okay_ with it?," Lisa let out a crazed laugh. "That he would just act as if nothing ever happened? I mean... I guess it's because I couldn't think of any other way to protect him. I'm tired of playing my mother's games. He needed to know. He was going to find out anyway." Lisa said, anger flowing through her. It spread like a wildfire. It helped hide the pain.

"If you don't kill him, then I will." Lisa stated icily.

She was losing her mind, but she meant what she said. If he didn't come back within a few weeks she was going to leave him on the threshold of death. Lisa couldn't handle this pain for a day, less than a week or two. She couldn't wait to feel his warm blood flowing across her skin. There was something wrong with her. She wasn't like this. Ever. She had never wanted to hurt anyone before, except her mother. Erica was looking at Lisa in a what-am-I-going-to-do-with-you type of way. Lisa focused on the floor, her eyes following it's pattern. The anger was diminishing and the pain was returning.

Lisa hated Tyler. If he were to walk through that door right now she didn't know whether she would slap him or hug him. Even if she did hug him, he would probably push her away. Of course he would. Reptiles were considered demonic to humans. That was why they had to replicate human D.N.A., so that they would be accepted. They would make sure this planet was suitable enough to fit their needs, and once it was, they would be accepted by humans, earn their trust, weave their way into controlling them, once they were able to gain control over this earth, they would conquer. Then dispose of all unneeded materials. Leaving water, land, food, shelter, and sunlight. They could create a whole new life here. The plan seemed so similar to her assignment with _him. _She was to make sure he was the right person, earn his love and trust, slowly begin to control him, and once she had control over him, Lisa was to use him. For what Lisa didn't know and wasn't sure she wanted to find out. After she uses him she is to sever all ties with him. To act as if none of this had happened. It would be as if he never existed. _As if he never existed. Without him there is no point in living. Or is there? Could there be someone out there who could love me as I am if Tyler doesn't?_ The idea made Lisa sick. To love someone other than Tyler? There was no one else she wanted. Lisa couldn't think of anyone else she even wanted as a friend who was male except... Joshua. No, he was too much like a father to her. Besides, there had never been anything romantic between them. Lisa pushed the thought away. There was silence until Erica spoke.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?"

"No. I would but... there's too much of..." Lisa's voice trailed off and felt the emptyness weigh heavily on her. But Erica finished the sentence for her.

"Him here." Lisa didn't have to nod for Erica to know that she was right. Lisa suddenly realized what she had done by coming here. She remembered one of _his_ memories; the one about his dad leaving. Erica had felt this way before. Lisa had just reminded her of the pain. She had reminded Erica of memories and emotions that weren't meant to be remembered. Lisa hadn't helped anybody by coming here. She had just made things worse. Lisa felt an emotion she knew all too well. Shame.

"I'm sorry for coming here." Lisa muttered, standing up to leave.

"No, it's okay, Lisa. Don't be sorry. I probably would have called you anyway. Where are you going to stay, though?" Erica asked.

"I'll stay at some hotel. I'll be fine." Lisa said.

"Do you need a toothbrush or anything?" Erica asked.

"Sure, thanks." Lisa said. Erica began to walk upstairs and Lisa looked out the window, watching the sun begin to set behind the houses and slanting along the street, creating dark shadows. Lisa's heart sank deep into the pit of her stomach and she felt as if she was suffocating. The pain was beginning to slowly rip her apart. Lisa closed her eyes for a few seconds, keeping the water from flowing from her eyes, to keep the weight from crushing her lungs. Lisa took a deep breath, which didn't feel like a breath at all, and opened her eyes. For a moment she could swear she saw Tyler riding down the road on his motorcycle. Lisa's phone vibrated in her pocket. Hope surged through her, causing a smile to spread across her face. Lisa pulled the phone out of her pocket and looked at the name of who was calling. Lisa's blood ran cold, she wasn't able to breathe. Her body started to shake. This was not good. Lisa cleared her throat and got herself under control. Then she answered the phone.


	2. Thoughts Unspoken

**Thanks for the reviews! **

**Yes, the writers of V are free to use any of this FanFiction stuff in the actual show (sadly they won't because no one knows of fanfiction. Really though, it's exactly like you tube except for writing)**

**P.S. I don't own V. I get most of this emotional stuff from books, movies, etc... I've never been in love, gotten my heart broken, or found out that someone I love is a lizard. (Which would be scary). So if you have any pointers on emotion, it would be much obliged. **

"You can run away from your problems, but not your memories."

Tyler's motorcycle shook because of him shaking. He slowed down and looked at the path ahead of him. Tyler had promised to never come back here again, but he lied. He knew the path. It was a few houses down from his dad's place, on the side of the road. He used to come to this place almost every weekend before... The accident. Memories came back to Tyler. Memories he had meant to lock away. The feel of the wind in his hair, adrenaline pumping through his veins, hearing someone call his name, then seeing the bark of a tree and dirt. There was no pain. At least not for a few moments. Pain came in waves, wracking his entire body. The ground, which was once cold and hard then became wet and forever stained with his blood. He had drifted in and out of consciousness, heard people speaking in soft murmurs, he had wierd dreams and hallucinations.

Tyler's motorcycle was now turned off. He distracted himself from the pain of the memory by focusing on the pathway. Although it was now slightly overgrown with pine tree branches and looked like it had long been forgotten, he could still ride his bike through it. Yet some paths are better taken on foot. Tyler let go of the handlebars and realized he had been gripping the bike with all his strength. His knuckles were white, his hands burned like fire and his fingers were blistered. Tyler ignored the pain and wheeled his bike into the bushes and took out the key, which he stuffed in his pocket. He didn't want anyone stealing his bike. Tyler looked at the worn path ahead of him.

"When you find out your girlfriend's a lizard, take a walk down memory lane." Tyler murmured to himself. Tyler pushed the branches aside and began to enter the forest, he then realized that this path meant nothing to anyone else besides him and his family_. Family. My family's divided. I have no family. There's only me. Me and my thoughts and "God". "God" is a real bastard. A real, damn bastard_. Tyler thought.

"Yeah, you're real good to me _God_. You've blessed me with so many things. You want me to count them off for you? Okay, here's one. My mom cheated on my dad and had me. Two, my dad found out that my mom cheated on him and decided that he didn't want to raise someone else's kid. Three, you just had to kill off a bunch of people I love, I'm not even gonna name them off. You know who they are. Four, you put that turn there, just had to let someone call my name so that I'd crash. Five, I had to listen to my parents talk about all of my flaws and problems when they thought I couldn't hear! I had to listen to them talk about me and scream at each other! I listened to that, all of their fighting and screaming about me... they'd talk about a variety of things about me. How stupid I was, how they didn't raise me right, how much of a burden I was. But where were you? Where were you, you slimy bastard? Answer me! Where were you? WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST?" Tyler screamed at the sky.

He stopped walking and tears formed at the corners of his eyes, making his vision blurry. Anger flooded through him. It was like a beast inside him that couldn't escape, clawing it's way from his stomach to his throat, but never being able to be let out, threatening to tear him apart. He was mad at the world, at Lisa, at God, at his mom and his dad and everything, at the path he was walking. Tyler blinked back the tears and walked faster.

"There is no God. You're not real. When I die, there's nothing else after. No heaven, nothing. It's all a game, a sick, horrible game, isn't it? It's all a game. When you're a kid... they fill your head with fairy tales and crap. They want you to make believe, let you live in a fantasy land. Then one day they just take it away from you. They just rip it out of your hands and tell you to stop living with your head in the clouds. It's the same everywhere. Churches fill your head with promises of a better place, but when you get there, it's not real. There's nothing after this life. No St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, no happily ever after for me, no sir. There's another thing they do, they promise you a happily ever after when you're a kid... but there is no happily ever after, for anybody," Tyler whispered, sadness and disappointment extinguishing the anger. "It's shit."

Tyler realized it was the same thing with Lisa. _Lisa, my little lizard. How was I supposed to know she was a _lizard_? A lizard... a reptilian, demonic looking lizard. And she decides to tell me _now_? _Tyler scoffed at the thought. Tyler growled, the anger starting to creep up on him like it does when you're annoyed with someone, it just keeps building and building and building until you explode. Tyler turned a corner and could have sworn that all blood and emotion drained away from his body and into the dirt. He stood there, unable to breathe, a tingling sensation running down his back. _There... it... is._Tyler almost whispered. The old oak tree. It was so ironic; oak trees were supposed to represent longevity, eternal life and prosperity. Yet this one had almost ended his. There was a sadness about the place that made the atmosphere painful. Tyler wished he had an ax to kill it. Although you couldn't kill a tree, exactly. Tyler had never believed trees to actually be alive. He didn't know why he thought so, he just always had. Tyler examined the tree carefully. It was petrified at some points, which was why it had hurt so bad when he crashed into the tree going who knows how fast. It branched out gracefully, it's bright green leaves made it look like a painting. Over all it was a very beautiful tree, but unless you were Tyler, you knew the horrible truth underneath it's beauty. He thought it weird that no one had chopped it down after his crash. The mental tourment of his crash and everything else made it hard to think of Lisa. Which is exactly what he wanted. Tyler walked towards the tree and stood underneath it. He tried to not think of Lisa and how the green leaves were the same color as her scales. He felt the blood flowing through him again and angrily let himself remember.

_He lay silently in his bed, trying to block out the voices by turning the television up louder. It didn't work. Tyler sighed, turned off the T.V., and pretended to sleep as he listened to his parents downstairs. _

_"That's not my problem, Joe! My god, you're such a-" His mom started but his dad interrupted her. _

_"Not _your_ problem? So you're saying he's not your problem? Well he sure as hell isn't my problem! I'm tired of this, Erica! I'm tired of _him_!" _

_"I'm not the one that bought him that motorcycle! I'm not the one that let him take it out that day!" _

_His dad's voice dropped to a whisper so all that Tyler could hear was "kid", "worthless", "worst choice I've ever made", "an idiot... no, worse than that... He's just too much like you, Erica". _

_"How about you just _tell_ him? I mean, really, you're being such a baby! I guess that's how he's like you!" _

_"He is _nothing_ like me, Erica. I am _nothing _like him. I will _never_ be like him. When will you see that?" _

_"You're such an idiot, Joseph! If it wasn't for him crashing we wouldn't be in this mess!" _

_"How does this all come back to me when it was your problem for having him?" _

_"Did you just hear me? I said 'IF IT WASN'T HIS FAULT FOR CRASHING, THEN WE WOULDN'T BE IN THIS DAMN MESS THAT WE'RE IN NOW!'" _

_"YEAH, BECAUSE _EVERYTHING_ IS _HIS_ FAULT!__" _

_Tyler couldn't listen to this anymore. He was leaving. Tyler hopped out of bed, pulled on his shoes, and ran across the hallway and down the stairs, his vision blurring from his tears. _

_"Tyler? Tyler! Tyler, wait! TYLER!" His mom called after him as he slammed the front door. _

Tyler wondered how long it would take him to die. To just lay here and waste into nothingness. A few days? A week, maybe? No, a few days would do him in quickly. He didn't care anymore. He was tired of everything. _Lisa, Lisa, Lisa, his Lisa._ Her name was everywhere, in the wind, the trees whispering her name, pressing on all sides of him, forcing him to the ground, making the anger spark. There was too much anger in his soul. Too much anger and pain. He wasn't the good guy. He was the bad guy; the villain. Just a lost soul. He didn't have a soul. He was too much of an idiot to have a soul. Tyler sat up and leaned against the tree. He wasn't human. He was a demon. Nothing more, nothing less.

"I guess it's about that vandalism thing, huh? That's why you won't answer me, because I don't believe in you. I guess the feeling's mutual, then. Thanks a lot, God. Thanks a lot." Tyler said to nobody. He might as well have been talking to himself.

"You hear me God? If you're there, show me a sign. Show me a sign. Come on! You think you're so high and mighty? Show me up! Strike me by lightning, come on, I'm right here." Tyler said, standing up and patting the tree, which hurt his sensitive hands even more. Tyler waited a minute or so, the anger stayed with him, not weakening or strengthening. The wind blew harder, but other than that nothing else happened._ Yeah, that's what I thought._ He ran his hand along the hard, smooth surface of the tree, causing it to hurt more. He wasn't mad at the tree. It was him that was driving so fast that day. Like his dad had said; it was his own fault for what had happened. He patted the sturdy tree and began to walk to a place of better memories, a place that wasn't as painful to be.

* * *

"Hello?" Lisa said. No one answered. Of course no one did. Lisa rolled her eyes at herself. Phones that V's were given were much more advanced than human phones, they were much thinner as well. The number on the phone was an emergency number, used only if there was something very wrong. Had she been found out? Lisa placed the phone on the table and waved her right hand over it five times. A hologram appeared and she tapped the code in, the phone beeped once and sent different holograms flashing before her eyes. The holograms vanished and the phone glowed a bluish-white color. The phone read something in V and then vanished quickly.

"Hello." Lisa tried again, she kept her voice normal, hiding all emotions in it.

"Lisa, I could find no other way to contact you but this, sorry for the inconvenience, but your mother wanted me to contact you to tell you that your services are needed on the ship." Joshua said. Lisa gritted her teeth and thought for a moment. She couldn't agree to this. She needed an excuse, and fast.

"I am unable to. Tyler is ill and I believe it would be considered rude if I were to leave. He doesn't want to go to the healing centers. He says that he has an excuse to stay out of school. I believe it is best if I were to stay here with Tyler until he feels well again. What was it that my mother needed me for?" Lisa asked, she hoped that she had hidden the pain in her voice well enough. She was suddenly pleased with the excuse that she had made up.

"Testing." Joshua said. Lisa's stomach flipped. Was it another empathy test, or another test where she had to take someones life? What if it was just to check her vital readings? That wouldn't be so bad, would it? Lisa kept her calm voice and asked, "What for?"

"She won't say." Well, that was reassuring.

"How important is it?" Lisa asked.

"Not nearly as important as your assignment with Tyler."

"Do you believe I should go up on the ship or stay here?"

"Whatever you believe is best." There he went, again. Sometimes, on very rare occasions, Lisa would hear part of his old self in his words. He didn't have to have emotions to sound like his old self, though.

"I believe that I should stay with Tyler until he is feeling better to make both him and his mother believe that my feelings for him are real." Lisa's heart jerked at the thought of not loving Tyler.

"Very well, then. I am sure that your mother trusts your judgement."

"As am I. I will talk to you later, Joshua."

"Goodbye, Lisa." Joshua said. The phone beeped again and the bluish-white color blinked on and off, like a pulse. Lisa waved her hand over it twice and put the code in again to turn it back into an almost-human phone.

"You scare me sometimes with your acting." Erica said. Lisa looked up at her and grinned half-heartedly.

"And I thought that our phones today were cool. What else can that thing do?" Erica inquired. Lisa shook her head.

"Countless other things." Lisa said, she thought of Tyler again and ignored the pain, or at least tried to.

"I have everything you need for the night." Erica said, handing Lisa a bag.

"Thank you Mrs. Evans." Lisa said.

"You're welcome." Erica said. Lisa gave Erica a hug.

"Tell me when he comes back." Lisa said.

"You'll be the first to know." Erica said, releasing Lisa. She turned to walk out the door.

"Mono." Erica said, suddenly.

"What?" Lisa asked.

"Tell your mom that Tyler has mono. It's a human disease that lasts for a month or so, you get it from kissing."

"Can humans get it from V's?"

"I would think so."

"Thanks again." Lisa said and walked out the door.

**Note: Tyler's beliefs about God do in no way express my own opinions about him.**


	3. Memories

**Author's Note: Okay so if you didn't see this week's episode, "Seige" then go on , click on V, and watch the episode. Go on... click out of here... then come back... **

**Okay, so i am now a Joe and Erica supporter. (My rules on shipping are as follows: If they've ever kissed, or have hardcore chemistry. I'm not talking about one scene of a little chemistry, I mean like every scene they're together) Yes, I know that Tyler is, too. Anyway, now that his dad's dead that kinda puts a damper on things since I mentioned Erica calling him and stuff so... yeah... I'm just gonna pretend that he's not dead. Oh, and i was happy that she hit Tyler! I'm all "Yeah! discipline that boy!" But I do feel bad for him because I mean, really... guys... he saw his dad dying on the street, bleeding his guts out. Something like that is going to leave some scars. He shouldn't have blamed it on his mom, though. Not a smart move on his part... Bunghole... anyway, go ahead and read on, I'm done talking.**

"Laughter is the best painkiller unless you can find nothing to laugh about."

Tyler heard a screech overhead. He looked up to see what it was but slipped and slid down a small cliff. His stomach twisted like it does when you miss a step on the stairs and have that moment of falling and wondering if you will ever land. He slid down to the bottom and watched the brown dust swirl around him. Tyler coughed as the dust made its way into his mouth, nose, and eyes. He forgot to turn left. There was a smaller pathway before the cliff that went left. Tyler stood up and brushed the dirt off himself. He remembered this place. It wasn't a cliff, it was an old jump. This jump held a memory that had been forgotten and had been buried behind other painful memories. He had seen it in the memory chamber and remembered it then, but had forgotten it after a few hours.

_Tyler rode his bike down the familiar pathway. He wasn't allowed to have a motorcycle yet because he was too young. His dad had said that when he was thirteen or fourteen he could have a motorcycle. Even though it was only five years away, it was a very long time to wait. Tyler took his time as he twisted and turned, his bike kicking up the sun-baked earth as he went. It was a bright summer day. There were no clouds in the sky and it was supposed to be hot that day, which it was. Tyler's stomach dropped as he descended the jump, which seemed so steep and big at the time. He braked when he reached the bottom, dust flying around him as he attempted to do a doughnut. He ended up failing to do so and falling. He heard laughing from somewhere, but he couldn't see where it was coming from because of the dust. Tyler blushed and wheeled his bike away from his attempted doughnut. When the dust cleared he saw his friend Dylan, sitting on his bike. Dylan was usually here before Tyler, and Tyler knew that Dylan had problems with his parents. This was their safe haven that they would come to have fun when they were bored or wanted to have something to do. Whenever Tyler asked Dylan about his family life or if something was wrong, Dylan dismissed the fact and would change the subject. If Tyler asked again Dylan would either ignore him or tell him that he didn't want to talk about it. Tyler had only been over to Dylan's house a few times, but never saw his parents. He had cropped light brown hair and dark brown eyes. He spent a lot of time in the sun, so his skin was a light tan color. Dylan was a few years older than Tyler, and taller, too._

_"Nice doughnut, Tyler." Dylan teased. _

_"Yeah, you couldn't do any better." Tyler retorted. Dylan rolled his eyes and said,"Yeah, that's probably true." _

_"What do you want to do today?" Tyler asked. Dylan sighed and tapped his handlebars thoughtfully. A sly grin spread across his face. _

_"You wanna make a jump? I don't mean a plain, boring jump. I mean a _real _jump. We could be like Evil Kinevil." Dylan said. _

_"Okay, but what are we going to use?" Tyler asked. _

_"Tires." _

_"Oh, no, Dylan. My dad gets really mad if we use any of his tires." _

_"Your dad's a mechanic, he has a limitless supply of tires that we can use. 'Cmon, where's the rebel in you, Tyler?" _

_"I'm not a rebel." _

_"Well, sure you are." _

_"How?" _

_"I don't know, you just are. You have that look." _

_"I don't have a rebel look! Besides, rebels smoke and do drugs and end up homeless alcoholics." _

_"No, you're thinking of druggies." _

_"Are your parents druggies?" Dylan was silent. Then he spoke,"You know I don't like to talk about my family. Why do you always ask me these questions?" _

_"I just want to know if I can help you is all." _

_"What are you going to do to help me? You can't help me. You're eight years old. I'm almost ten." _

_"I can be your friend." Tyler replied. Dylan sighed and looked at the ground, then at Tyler. _

_"My parents don't care about me. It's as if I'm not there. They don't care about me, Ty. I'm tired of it. I just want to leave this place behind and go somewhere else," Dylan had tears in his eyes and looked up at the sky. "Like... another planet or something. Wouldn't that be great if you could just get in a rocket and fly to another planet where there aren't as many problems?" _

_"Well, Dill, that's what heaven's for." Tyler said. Dylan smiled and wiped his eyes. _

_"Yeah, it sure is, Ty. 'Cmon, let's go uh, get those tires." Dylan sniffled. _

_"Are you okay?" _

_"Yeah, I'm just being a pansy." _

_"Oh..." Tyler's voice trailed off. They mounted their bikes and built enough momentum to carry them up the hill, or Dylan did, at least. As Tyler was about to reach the top of the hill, his bike couldn't create enough momentum, so Tyler began to slide backwards. He was going to crash! He backpedaled and the bike stopped sliding. _

_"Uhh... Dylan?" Tyler called, his heart racing. He was too afraid to move. He could wipe out badly if he did. _

_"Yeah," Dylan asked, turning around. "Oh, Christ!" _

_Tyler didn't feel like lecturing him on Jesus' name being a bad word. He heard Dylan laugh and saw him run over to help him. Dylan walked sideways down to where Tyler was. He took hold of the handlebars on Tyler's bike. _

_"You can get off, we can walk from here. Just leave your bike. It'll be easier." Tyler nodded, jumped off his bike and scrambled up the hill. Dylan dropped the bike and ran behind him. As they walked, a question came into Tyler's head. _

_"Am I your best friend?" _

_"You're my very best friend, Tyler." _

_"You're mine, too. We'll be friends forever, won't we?" _

_"Forever is a long, long time, Tyler. I don't think two people could be friends forever." _

_"That's true, I guess." They walked in silence, kicking rocks and plants as they went. Then Tyler spoke up, _

_"I hate girls, except my mom and aunts and grandmas. Girls are just so...weird! All they care about is keeping clean and doing their hair and not having any fun. They play with baby dolls and stuffed animals and pretend to be princesses. I hate it when they make believe they're princesses because then they're extra weird and extra clean. If you show them a frog they scream and call _you _weird. They freak out over cool stuff! They're like... from outer space or something!" Tyler said disgustedly. _

_"One day you might not think that, Tyler." said Dylan. _

_"How can you say... oh, no. You have a crush on someone. Oh no, you got cooties! Isn't that what happens when you get cooties? You start to think girls are pretty and then you like them and then when you're a lot older you... ewww!" Tyler shuddered at the thought of people kissing. Kissing was gross! Who would put their lips together like that and keep it that way? Dylan laughed at Tyler. _

_"Sometimes I worry about you. You're immature for your age. 'Cmon, I'll race you to the beginning of the path." Dylan said. _

_"No. I don't wanna... go!" Tyler yelled, running for the beginning of the pathway._

Tyler smiled at the long memory. Dylan was right, girls weren't aliens. Well, most of them. He also learned that kissing wasn't bad. It was... good. Unless you were spit swapping with a lizard, then kissing leads to... No! He wasn't going to think about lizard sex. Dammit, he just thought it. Anger threatened to consume him. _Why didn't she tell me _before_ we kissed and did it?_ Tyler picked up a rock and threw it at a nearby tree, scaring a bird. He had that urge to kill something again. He would make a good killer, no doubt. He just had to think of Lisa and Bingo! He was a mass murderer in the making. All he needed was a knife, mask, and gloves then he'd be an all around maniac! Or the dude from Scream. Besides, he was a better shot with a gun. He suddenly imagined himself on a sniping rampage, killing all in sight. He wasn't that evil. No one was. Tyler was also immature for his age, he was acting like a fifteen year old. No, it was just him going insane. Anger, hate, pain, and sadness were mixed inside him all at once. Tyler ran back up the jump as his memory continued.

_"If my dad finds out that we stole his tires, he's gonna be really mad." Tyler said. _

_"Tyler, there are times to live on the edge, to take risks, to have fun. Loosen up. We aren't going to die. Are you going to go through life and follow all of the rules? What's the fun in that? Nothing. There isn't any fun in being a good guy. Create chaos and fun. Be the first to start singing in a quiet room, or the first to speak up and voice your opinion. Or dance when no one else will. Be random, and outrageous, and fun. You only live once, Tyler. Experience everything life has to offer. Now, come on, take two tires." Dylan said._

_Tyler nodded and took two large tires from behind the shed, while Dylan took four bigger ones. They ran to the pathway and raced the tires to see whose would go fastest. Once they reached the jump, they pushed the tires down it with as much force as they could muster. Dylan's went furthest twice and Tyler's tire went furthest once. They then stacked four tires up and put wooden ramps on both sides of the tires. After they made sure everything was sturdy, they stacked four tires up and rode from both cleared the landing. Dylan put on another one and tried to jump it, but missed. He wasn't high enough and crashed into the tires. Dylan groaned and got up. _

_"Don't try that." Dylan said. _

_"I'll clear it, you'll see." Tyler said and asked Dylan to put another tire on top. Dylan said no but after an amount of begging, Dylan agreed. Tyler pushed his bike all the way to the top of the jump, aimed his bike for the wooden ramp, and then pushed off the ground. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, Tyler didn't need to pedal that much but once he touched flat land he did. His heart thundered in his ears. He made his way onto the ramp and for a moment was flying. He was invincible. At least until his bike tire skimmed the top of the sixth tire. Tyler's bike wobbled, and shook, the front tire of his bike made it to the ramp, but the back tire didn't. Tyler slipped off his bike and slammed his head on the bottom tire, then his bike fell on top of him. His vision was blurry and he began to see doubles. His neck and stomach hurt badly. The next thing he remembered was him lying flat on his back with Dylan looking at him. His face was pale and looked like he was going to faint, but when he saw Tyler his face lit up. _

_"You're alive! Oh, thank you, God! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! Dude, that was epic what you did! Are you okay? Can you move?" Dylan asked. Tyler carefully flexed his fingers and wiggled his toes, and slowly made sure that every limb was okay. His neck and stomach hurt when he sat up, and so did his thighs and his left ankle. Other than that, he was okay. Just a few minor cuts and he was sure he was bruised. _

_"My stomach hurts." _

_"I bet it does. That bike rammed into you pretty hard. Your neck okay?" Tyler shook his head and moved his neck around, trying to crack it. That helped a little. _

_"'Cmon, let's get you home, bud." Dylan said, smiling. Dylan walked alongside him with Tyler's bike. The sun was getting ready to set when Tyler reached home. His mom was a little upset with him for crashing and said that he probably strained a muscle when he fell. When she asked what they had been jumping, Dylan said ramps, which was true enough. Neither of them mentioned the tires, and Tyler's dad didn't ask. He just grinned and watched them from the doorway. _

He forced himself to think of what happened a few weeks after the crash. Dylan announced that he was leaving, but he wouldn't say when or mention where he was going. His family and him had just left. Tyler never saw him again. He had made other friends but Dylan was his first real friend and Tyler wished that he could have helped him more. The poor kid had a horrible life, Tyler saw it but hadn't been able to change it. What could he have done, anyway? He now wondered what happened to Dylan. Was he dead? Or a drug addict? Tyler sighed and wondered if his old friend _was_ dead. Lying underneath a pile of dirt in a coffin somewhere. Tyler shivered. No, he couldn't be dead. Dylan was just one of those many friends that you forget as life goes on. He couldn't help Dylan anymore. Why was it that people come into your life that need help but it seems that you never can? Tyler stopped walking for a moment and thought about it. _Why do people come into your life that need help but it seems that you never can help them? Or when you try to it's never enough? I couldn't help Dylan but ... but what? No one needs my help. Lisa does._ A small voice in the back of his head said._ Ha! yeah, right. She'll replace me easily, but she won't replace me soon._ The woods were getting denser the farther he walked. Tyler almost tripped over roots and vines, and thought he was lost for a moment but then realized that the fishing hole was hiding behind a bunch of weeds and tree branches.

He pushed away the branches and leaves then looked at the sight ahead of him. Magnificent. The green-yellow grass was longer than he remembered. A little waterfall led to an oddly oval shaped pond that was smaller than a normal sized pool, but not by much. The pond led into a small creek that lead into the woods. A few large moss-covered rocks were bordering the waterfall. Pine trees and a few oak trees dotted the perimeter, making a green canopy of leaves overhead that let little shafts of sunlight in.

Tyler walked towards the waterfall then lay on his stomach, peering over to see if there were any fish in it. His dad and him used to go down here a lot when he was younger. Come to think of it, he didn't remember the last time he had gone fishing with his dad. He saw a shimmer of scales in the water. _Scales. Shiny, green, slimy scales. Well, slimy, shimmery scales are better than gray, dull, dry scales. _There wasn't a time since Tyler had left New York where he hadn't felt like he was going to throw up. It was like he was sick, even though he wasn't. No, he was sick, but mentally. He wondered what Lisa was doing right now. He then thought of his mom. Uh-oh. He'd forgotten about her. His stomach flipped and twisted violently. His mom was going to kill him once he walked back through that door. Tyler pulled out his phone and debated on calling her. He tried to turn his phone on but it didn't work. Great, his phone died. His mom probably tried to call. _God, that would suck if the F.B.I. started looking for me. Not to mention, extremely embarrassing. Oh well, let them find me. Who cares? But then again, Lisa would be worried. She should have known that I would do something like this if she told me, right? It wasn't right to just leave her but I needed to get away, sort things out, and work through them in my own time. _Tyler sighed and put his firey, throbbing hands into the cold water. He moaned with relief. The water felt so good on them. He swirled his hands around and drew designs on the water's surface. He sat up and pulled his hands out of the water, shaking them dry. Tyler leaned against a mossy rock and closed his eyes as the sun began to set, and fell into a dreamless sleep.

Lisa hated hotel doors. She growled in frustration when the card wouldn't go into the door or if she put it in but waited too long to pull it out. _Why can't human doors be as easy as ours?_ She got it open after the fifteenth or something try. _Finally._ She thought. Lisa turned on the lights and closed the door. She flipped on the television but could find nothing good. _Tyler would be able to find something if he were here. But he's not. He left. He isn't coming back. Tyler doesn't care about me. He'll never look at me the same way again. He'll be a coward, probably hide in the woods until this war is over. Pansy._ Lisa turned off the television and forced herself not to cry. _Who's the pansy now? _Lisa sighed and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and see what else Erica had packed for her.

Toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, etc. Anger flared through Lisa when she found a big wad of cash packed along in the bag. _She's too good to me._ Lisa thought to herself and promised to return the money to Erica in the morning. Lisa kept looking through the bag and found something at the bottom of it. Lisa's blood froze as she realized what it was and she could have sworn her heart stopped for about three seconds. It was a t shirt. Tyler's t shirt. There was nothing special about it, the t shirt was a simple stonewashed gray color. But the fact that it was _his_... A lump formed in Lisa's throat as picked it up and buried her face in his shirt. Other than the smell of clean laundry, it smelled like him. Leather, Old Spice, which smelled like shaving cream, but better and fresher. Then it smelled like motorcycle exhaust and spearmint. He almost always tasted like spearmint. Lisa could feel the walls she had built to contain her emotions slowly crumbling. She shook with anger, causing her true eyes to be revealed. Lisa looked in the mirror and saw her golden colored eyes staring back at her. Lisa bared her jagged fangs and hissed at her reflection. She hated her true self. She hated Tyler and emotions, she hated her mother and Joshua. She didn't hate Tyler. She loved him but hated that she did. Lisa also didn't hate Joshua. She was just irritated with him. Lisa wished that she could claw the person's face staring back at her. She hissed again and growled. Why did she have to be this? Why did she have to be reptilian? Why did humans have to hate lizards so much? Why couldn't she be human? Why were their kind created in this image that was so repulsing to humans? Why did it repulse them? She seemed perfectly normal to her kind. Lisa was more attractive than other V's, even in her real skin.

She then remembered what she thought of humans when she was shown pictures and videos of them. They had seemed so mutated to her. Not attractive or beautiful. The human's culture was disorganized, they were sloppy and disorderly, stupid and bizarre, violent and reckless. They were the equivalent of the creatures that V's ate. Both species were mammals, and both were dirty and violent. It seemed so simple to conquer these beings. But as her training begun on human etiquette and how to socialize and flirt, Lisa realized that maybe humans weren't all that she had thought them to be. They seemed to be a lot like V's. They answered under rulers, and Lisa found it interesting that they didn't answer to one ruler, but many. Lisa wanted to learn more about them. She also learned how to tell the good looking humans from the average looking ones. Then, sometime later, her mother had given Lisa an assignment a few days before they were to land. She had told her to choose a male human that she found attractive. When Lisa had asked what for, her mother had replied that she would make him fall in love with her. Lisa had done as her mother asked and set her sights on Tyler. He had caught her eye the moment he walked into the room. She had felt her first emotion when she saw him. It was barely noticeable, but she had still felt it. It was a spark, small enough to go unnoticed and yet it had enough energy to create a flame. Lisa tried to extinguish it. She did everything to stop her emotions from surfacing. It was hard to do with Tyler being such a distraction. His eyes a deep, intense color, and that crooked smile he had. Everything about him was beautiful, in a way. His chocolate brown hair that sometimes hung in his eyes. He was so sweet, too. Tyler was always gentle and kind with her. Never rude or angry. Except for a few times when he was mad. But he wasn't mad at Lisa. Usually it was about something else. Well, excluding now. Now he was disgusted with her. Lisa pushed the thought away quickly. Tyler had a childish look to him. A baby face, it was called. She knew that she had feelings for him but didn't know that she truly loved him until they had kissed on the shuttle, when she thought it was going to be the last time that she would ever see him.

Lisa found herself curled up on the bed, trying to hold herself together and not break. She was holding Tyler's shirt. She felt like a Tracker, not being able to get enough of _his_ scent. Her eyes and teeth had reverted back to their human form. She thought she could hear his voice whispering her name. _Lisa. Lisa. Lisa. _She thought of on his birthday and how he'd said that he loved her. Then later that night he had spent the night up on the ship. They had watched a movie and he had fallen asleep. "I love you too, Tyler. I love you too." Lisa had whispered as she fell asleep on his chest with his arms wrapped around her.

Emotions flooded through her. The walls she had built to block them out had collapsed, leaving her vulnerable. Pain tore at her. It felt as if someone was skinning her, ripping her apart piece by piece. Lisa sobbed and wanted the pain to stop. Nothing could be worse than this pain. No amount of skinning or torture could compare to this. Lisa shuddered and cried, odd sounds escaping her lips. Lisa felt as if a weight had been dropped on her. She didn't know that emotions could hurt so bad. _How do humans live like this? With this pain? It's unbearable. _The hole in her chest widened until she felt like there was nothing of her left. She needed one of those pills that incinerated you. She would gladly take that other than live like this. Her head hurt because she had been crying so long and hard. She also began to feel sick. Lisa wanted to dream. She wished to dream so that she could see Tyler again. If there was one time Lisa was allowed to dream then Lisa wanted to dream tonight. But she wasn't able to. V's couldn't dream. They weren't designed for it, or emotions. So if they could gain emotions then why couldn't they gain dreams? They were considered useless and frivolous. Lisa wanted Tyler to be here more than anything, to take this pain away. The pain hadn't subsided or weakened. It had strengthened, causing her to gasp for breath. She couldn't stop shaking. All she could think about was the pain. She felt hollow, and the pain kept wracking her body, coming in waves. _After tonight I will never cry again for you leaving me. Never again._ Lisa thought. She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost instantly, causing the pain to stop.


	4. Chances

**A/N: Whoa, whoa... Everyone hold your fire! I know I haven't updated in a while, so all of you take a deep breath and calm down, okay? Is everybody calm? Good. **

** I don't own anything you freaky copyright people! Well, except these quotes, these quotes are mine. Don't sue me! In case you haven't noticed, no one has much money anyway! Except for the Facebook dude and Hollywood, and Bill Gates. **

**I might not continue this. I don't know, it's just... *pfft*! (That was supossed to be a farting noise) I think because it's so sad and depresssing and I'm a person who likes humor. I lost motivation for the story. Let me know if you want me to continue it or not.**

"With the dawn of a new day comes a second chance."

Tyler woke up shivering. For a second he wondered where he was. Then he remembered. Lizards, pain, and memories. He sat up and looked around him. Mist enveloped the landscape. It was probably somewhere around six in the morning or so. The mist gave it an eerie feel. Almost like a scary movie._ Ha! Story of my life!_ Tyler thought. He got up and debated on walking. _If I walk, there's a good chance some psycho Zodiac killer will attack me. If I don't I'm going to freeze and starve to death. _He sighed and looked at his hands. They hurt less but looked more swollen and red.

He thought about not going then thought about food. When was the last time he ate? Noon? _Mmmm... Bacon... Wait a second, if V's are lizards then what do they eat? Ewww... Do they eat humans? Oh God! Well, now I know how to lose my appetite. Ewww... what _if_? Could they? Would they? No, i don't want to know. Ugh, now I feel sick again. _He probably should go to his dad's house and call his mom. No, she was going to strangle him through the phone. _Someone probably told her I went missing. She's going to kill me! She'll be madder if I don't call. What am I going to say to her?_ He couldn't just tell his mom that the V's were lizards. Tyler sighed angrily. He had nowhere to go, no money, his phone was dead, and his bike was probably close to being out of gas. Tyler stood up and walked through the mist, retracing his steps back to his motorcycle.

* * *

Lisa opened her eyes. The gray light of day crept into the room. She no longer felt pain. Only that she still wasn't able to breathe, just emptyness, and the weight that pressed on her heart. She realized that she was still holding Tyler's shirt. It still smelled of him, although the scent had weakened because of her tears ruining it. She changed into his shirt and stuffed hers in the bag Erica had given her. Lisa brushed her hair and teeth, then walked downstairs to the lobby to get breakfast.

As she was eating, she realized people glancing her way, mostly boys. Most people didn't look at her that often. Or was she only noticing it because Tyler was gone? She suddenly realized why. Of course Tyler wasn't there. Lisa was alone, her boyfriend wasn't there by her side anymore. She felt even more empty when she thought of this. She was young and beautiful, and now single. Lisa put her head in her hand as she thought this. She was free to date, she could have any guy, except Tyler. The only exception. The only one she needed.

Lisa sighed, and pushed Tyler out of her mind, or at least tried to. Her stomach flipped violently. Of course, why hadn't she seen it before? Now that he was gone, that means her assignment with him was to be aborted. She would have to be assigned another human to make fall in love with her. What would she say to her mother? That Tyler mysteriously disappeared and got killed by a Tracker? Lisa groaned softly. She didn't want to know what her mother would do to her when she found out that Tyler was gone. She didn't have to. There was no point in fighting anymore. All she needed was an immolation pill. But she told herself that she would wait a couple of weeks to see if he would return. The weight that was still on her shoulders worsened.

She tried to think of a plan for the day. Go up on the ship? Yeah, right. She wasn't ready to die just yet. Wander aimlessly through the streets? No. She then remembered that she had to give Erica back the money that she gave her. Lisa pushed her food around her plate, then got up and threw the rest away into the garbage. She decided not to stay at the hotel for another night. But she also couldn't go up on the ship._ I'll just go with the flow today._ She decided. Humans had a fun way of using words. She went back to the room, made sure that she had everything, and checked out of the hotel.

* * *

Tyler's bike was right where he had left it. He _could_ go back to his mom and Lisa, but he wouldn't. He didn't want to admit it, but he was scared of the V's, and the more he thought about it, the more afraid he was of his mom. She could be scary when she wanted to be. No, he would go to his dad's and call his mom. He would tell his dad that Lisa had broken up with him. Even though it wasn't the truth, it would work. His mororcycle would make too much noise, though. Oh well, he would walk. The mist was lesening, but the day was still gray. He wasn't really that mad at Lisa anymore, just scared out of his ass by her. His stomach still flipped when he thought about her, and not in the good way. Although when he thought about it, he guessed that he probably wouldn't want to tell her that he was a lizard, either. That was the question. Why had she told him? Why? She could have never told him, yet would it have been better if he had found out on his own? Tyler kept the question at the back of his mind.

For a moment it seemed that no one was home. No, his dad usually got up early on weekends. Tyler walked around and slid through the back door. Weird. No one _was_ home. It was too quiet. The house was warm and inviting. _I'll just stay here until he comes back. I'll probably scare the crap out of him, though. That's going to be fun to see his reaction. Wow, I am an asshole._

Tyler walked upstairs to the guest bedroom, then ran back downstairs to browse through the movie collection. He was in the mood for a comedy. He couldn't handle a romance or sci-fi at this time. _Family Guy! One of the funniest stupid shows of all time! I think this is the only show that makes you feel smart, even though it feels like you're losing brain cells. _He needed to get Lisa out of his head. His stomach dropped again, he felt like he was going to puke. Tyler couldn't tell if he felt sick from Lisa or hunger. He sighed, picked up Season One of the series, and walked upstairs to the bedroom. He watched for about fifteen minutes, then fell asleep again.

* * *

Erica sighed, pouring herself a cup of coffee. She had barely slept at all last night. Where the hell had Tyler gone? The rotten bastard! Like father, like son. The damn memories that she had forgotten, she now remembered. The pain, the nightscares. She jumped as her phone rang. Erica picked it up and answered it.

"Hello?" She said.

"Erica, it's Joe. I found Tyler. He's at my house."

"And you didn't tell me until now?" Erica asked, aggrivated.

"He showed up just now! I had gone out to see if I could find him, and I came home, and here he is."

"Let me talk to him."

"He's asleep."

"Joe, could you do me a favor? When he wakes up, tell him to call me. Then kick his ass."

"Erica, what did he do?"

"Why don't you ask him that yourself?"

"Why won't you tell me?"

"Because I want to see what he says."

"Do you want me to wake him up so that he can talk to you?"

"Uh... yeah. I want to talk to him right now."

"Okay. Hold on for a minute or so."

"I will."

* * *

Random images and emotions blurred into Tyler's head. He was dreaming but he couldn't tell what he was dreaming of. Colors merged in front of his vision, creating swirls and shapes.

"Tyler." Lisa whispered softly. He could feel her breath tickle his ear. He heard a hissing noise, as her sharp fangs peirced his neck.

Tyler woke with a start, then jumped when he saw his dad.

"Ty... you okay?" His dad asked. How do you answer to that? _'Oh yeah, dad, I'm great. It's just that I've been banging a lizard. Everything's fine. Where have you been?' Yeah, right._ Tyler thought. He looked around, trying to think of what to say. He realized that the television had been turned off, and the case to the DVD was gone. His dad probably put it away.

"Dad, I...," Tyler sighed. "Where have you been?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing. I was looking for you until nine last night, then I came back here and I fell asleep and woke up at five and decided to look for you again. I've checked everywhere, bars, hotels, the shed... Anyway, your mom wants to talk to you." His dad said. Tyler felt sick again.

"No, dad. Mom's gonna kill me, I can't just-"

"Tyler, just talk to her. I don't think that she would actually kill you. She'll get angrier if you don't."

"Okay." Tyler said. He got up and ran downstairs. His dad's house phone wasn't cordless like most phones were. Tyler reached his hand toward the phone and stopped, his heart jumping into his throat. He was going to die. End of story. _Pick it up, you pussy!_ He told himself. Tyler hesitated for another moment, closed his eyes, picked up the phone and put it to his ear.

"Mom?" Tyler asked.

"TYLER EVANS WHRE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN? YOU HAD ME WORRIED SICK! GET YOUR ASS HOME RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR TO GOD I'M GOING TO-" Tyler held the phone away from his ear. Yep, she was pissed. He saw his dad leaning against the counter, trying not to laugh. When Tyler was sure his mom had calmed down, he put the phone to his ear again.

"Mom, please, just let me explain. It's Lisa, she broke up with me and I-"

"DON'T YOU EVER LIE TO ME AGAIN! I WANT THE TRUTH AND I WANT IT NOW!" Tyler winced._ Christ, I'm surprised that she hasn't shot the phone. _

"Mom, I can't tell you. She... you wouldn't believe me. I- I just can't."

"Tyler... Tell. Me. The. Truth."

Damn, she was using her F.B.I. Agent interrogating voice. Fine, she wanted the truth? She could have it. He'd be locked up in a mental institution, but he didn't care.

"Lisa... The V's, I mean. They- they are not like us. They're, mom, you're not going to believe this but... They're... _lizards." _

There was silence on the other end. Great, she thought he was crazy. His dad probably did, too. Well, this was great. Life just got better and better for him. Tyler waited for his mom to say something, anything. The silence was killing him.

"I know." She finally said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on here. You... you _knew?_ You knew this _whole time_? And you didn't _tell_ me?"

"Tyler, you were too close to them. It's not like I-" Tyler let the phone slip from his fingers. He felt numb again. His mom knew the whole time. She never told him. It was hard for him to breathe. He felt dizzy. He looked at his dad who had a slightly concerned look on his face. It wasn't pale or in shock. He had to have known as well.

"Dad, did you-"

"Yeah, son. I did."

Tyler nodded slowly and picked up the phone that was dangling by it's cord.

"Tyler come home, we need to talk."

"Mom, I can't go home. I can't face Lisa. I'm sorry." Tyler said and hung up the phone. He walked out the back door, onto the porch. He leaned against the railing and put his hands to his head. Tyler heard his dad walk up behind him.

"Am I the only one who didn't know? How did you even find out about them being lizards, anyway?" Tyler asked, agitated.

"Your mom showed me everything. What their plans are-"

"Wait, what _plans_?"

"Oh god, I thought you knew that part." Joe said, rubbing his forehead.

"Dad... what plans?"

"Tyler, go home to your mom, she's better at explaining stuff than I am."

"Why can't you tell me?"

"Because your mom's the leader."

"The leader of _what_?"

"Nothing, nevermind."

"Dad, what do you mean mom's the leader?"

"You haven't answered any of my questions, so why should I tell you anything?"

He had a point, there. Tyler rolled his eyes.

"Ask away." Tyler said, annoyed. Anger was beginning to slowly envelope him.

"Where were you last night?"

"In the woods."

"I checked in the woods."

"Not by the fishing hole we used to go to on the weekends, or the tree that I crashed into."

"I didn't expect you to be there. I thought you were at a hotel or something. You had us worried."

"_Us_? There is no us. You aren't even my real dad!" Tyler screamed.

_Uh-oh. I overstepped the boundary lines there. Oh no... de ja vu. _Tyler thought, taking a step back. There he went again, talking without thinking.

"It was never proven."

"How do you know?"

"The V's want you for something. I don't know what it is, exactly, but..."

"Dad, the V's aren't evil. They're just lizard aliens who... They're just lizards, dad. You've gone crazy. Even if they were, why are you hiding in the shadows? I always thought that you'd be the one to fight and go out with honor."

"I'm not. I'm trying to get as many people as I can on the good side. My duty lies in this town, converting people over to the right side."

"You have no proof about the V's!"

"I do. But your mother has more proof to be able to convince you."

"What? Wait, you said she's the leader. What is she the leader of? The _good side_? Do you guys even have a name for your cult thing?"

"Tyler," Joe said, grabbing his shoulders. "your mom's the leader of the Fifth Column. Get your bike, put it in the truck, and I'm going to take you home."

"No. I am _not_ going back there. You're crazy. You and mom and the other... Fourth Column."

"Fifth."

"What happened to the other four? Isn't that kind of like a red light, when there have been four columns and they've all been destroyed? I can't... I'm leaving." Tyler said. His dad was insane! Tyler's hands twitched with anger. How could the V's be evil? They had done so much to help humanity, even if they were lizards.

"And going where? You have nowhere to go. You're probably hungry. Come inside, I'll make you breakfast, then fill up your bike with gas, and you can leave."

"I thought you said that you were going to drive me home." Tyler said, beginning to calm down.

"I was going to, but then I remembered that I'm not your father. You said so yourself, so I hold no power over you. Come inside, Ty. I gotta show you something."

"What?" Tyler asked coldly.

"Proof." Joe said, walking inside. Tyler hesitated, then closed the screen door behind him as he followed his dad into the house.


	5. Decisions, Decisions

**I slap floor! (unscramble the letters)**

**Let me make a few pointers here:**

**1) I do not believe in alternative universes unless in the show, book, or movie there is one. I am finishing this story off for you guys (and girls). **

**2) God, you guys whine more than a child asking for candy! Well, here it is! There, you happy now you big babies? Yes, this is sarcasm, I didn't intend to hurt your feelings. My friend wouldn't write more of this and you guys were sitting and begging like little puppy dogs waiting for a slice of bacon. (Which to me was actually kind of funny) **

**3) Well, read and tell me what you think. I thought that I might as well just get this fic over with and _then _transfer over to another fandom. Besides, I've never really been one to give up on things.**

"There is a line between fantasy and reality, but on rare occasions that line is blurred."

Lisa walked down the stairs into the large database where the Aries Project was being worked on. She scanned the room for Erica, but was unable to see her. Lisa began to walk to Hobbes, who was talking to Lars about something. Hobbes glanced her way, said something to Lars, and brushed past him, walking towards her.

"Well hello, Reptile Princess. What are you doing here so early? Shouldn't you be with your boyfriend?" asked Hobbes. It was a simple question, but enough to send a feeling that someone had dropped a weight on her through Lisa's body. Her jaw clenched and she turned on her heel to leave.

"Whoa, hold on a minute. I'm sorry. What happened?" Hobbes asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Lisa whirled around to face him.

"Tyler left. I told him the truth and he ran off," Lisa said in a rush. "Where's Mrs. Evans?"

"Okay, I know now's not the best time, but did you tell him just now or-"

"I told him yesterday. I don't think he's..." Lisa's voice trailed off and she felt a tugging sensation in her gut. She pushed it away and looked down at the ground before looking up at him again. He had a look like he was thinking hard about something, or maybe he was trying not to think of something.

"Don't worry. We'll get him back." Hobbes said.

"That's what you always say. Why do you set your expectations high, but then get let down? Why don't you ever set your expectations low?" Lisa asked.

"Human nature," Hobbes said. "Sorry, but Erica's not here right now, I think she's at work. Well, her _other_ work. You know what I mean."

Lisa nodded.

"Yeah, sorry. But on the bright side, Lars has found out something you might take an interest in. Come with me."

* * *

Tyler felt chills creep up and down his spine as the screams reached his ears, seeing the cage full of needles close in on the girl. He wished that he could look away, but Tyler couldn't. He was too shocked to move.

"T-Turn it off. TURN IT OFF!" Tyler screamed. He didn't realize that he was shaking. Tyler's dad shut the laptop and looked at him.

"Do you believe me now?" he asked.

"I think I'm gonna..." Tyler ran for the bathroom and leaned over the toilet. He shook and chills ran through his body, worse than when he found out that Lisa was a lizard. He wished that he could throw up, but sadly he didn't.

"You want some Alka Seltzer?" asked Joe. Tyler shook his head and gritted his teeth, trying to fight against the churning in his stomach.

"No. I think I'm gonna be okay," Tyler said, beginning to feel a little bit better. "You say that this base camp thing is in Manhattan?"

"Yeah. So, it's up to you. Are you going to join the war and fight for those you love, or stay here for a while, then go somewhere and hide until the war's over?"

Tyler wasn't sure. Maybe. He wasn't really sure if he should or not.

"You know that answer." Tyler said, deciding that it was easier than saying yes or no.

"Get going then."

"Would it be stupid to say that I'm scared to?"

"Not at all."

Tyler stood up as the wave of nausea passed. He didn't know what to believe. His mind was reeling. He knew that the V's were evil, but why hadn't he been able to see it?

"How do I know that this isn't fake or something? I mean, now I'm just not sure where the truth begins and the lying ends." Tyler said. He looked down at his hand resting on the surface of the counter. He had been so distracted with learning that the V's were evil that he forgot his hands hurt.

"Would your mom, me, and your girlfriend really go through all of this trouble just to play a prank on you?"

"No." Tyler said slowly.

"Exactly. You don't have to go right away if you don't want to. But you can't hide from your mom forever."

"It's not mom I'm trying to hide from. Do you have any gauze from a first aid kit or something?" Tyler asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, why?"

"I held onto the handlebars too tight and my hands are beat up."

"Come on. We'll get you fixed up."

After putting rubbing alcohol on his hands, which burned like hell, and wrapping his hands in gauze, Tyler thanked his dad and debated whether to go back or not.

"If I go back then... I might as well sell my soul to the devil. What if mom turns me over to the V's or something? What if-"

"Tyler. Calm down, you're getting paranoid. Your mom would never do that to you. You're just freaking out. If you don't want to go you don't have to."

"That's easy for you to say." Tyler said, the fear diminishing and anger sparking in him. '_You don't have to go back if you don't want to.' Like you never did for us? Does my mom think that I'll stay away from her? That I'm like my dad? I'll prove my mom wrong. I'm not like him._ The anger grew in his chest and spread through him.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about. You're right. You are my dad, because I'm a lot like you. You leave me and mom, and I leave mom and my girlfriend. Weird how these things work, huh?"

"Ty... I know that you will never forgive me for leaving you, and I'm sorry."

"I don't mind that you left. I just mind that you never returned."

Tyler began to walk towards the back door.

"Where are you going?"

"To do something for mom that you never did. Go back."

* * *

Lisa looked at the big screen in front of her that had a large map of Earth. It made her think of the time Tyler and her were on the shuttle, the day that she thought was going to be her last. Lisa crossed her arms and pressed them into her stomach in an attempt to keep herself together and block out the emptiness that was creeping into her. She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to listen closely.

"Sid, show Lisa." Hobbes commanded.

"Sure thing. So, as you can see here we have had some of our math experts be able to calculate the exact date and time that most of the shuttles will be on the ground. Now, this will be happening all around the world, we think that it's to get all of the Live Aboard people off of the ship, but we're not exactly sure." Sid explained.

"Why would that... To blow them up?" Lisa asked.

"See Science Boy? She isn't a dumb blond after all." Hobbes said.

"I never said she was! You're just trying to get everyone all riled up! You know, sometimes you can be a big-" Sid began to say.

"Don't push it, Bill Nye." Hobbes retorted. They glared at each other for a second, looking like they wanted to punch each other.

"So you need to get a lot of shuttles on the ground to blow them up so that no one can get access to the ship." Lisa said, causing them to break their death glare.

"Yes. Once we blow up a few, more will start coming down, and if we can blow them all up then we have the upper hand. We can use the ship that Ryan gave us to get up there and kill the V's on the ship. Then, because all of the shuttles are gone, no one will have anywhere to go." said Sid.

"Except my mother. She has her own shuttle used for quick escapes." Lisa replied.

"That's another thing. We've all decided that you should kill her. After all the things she did to you, you deserve the honor. That is, if we are able to get that far." Sid said. Lisa nodded.

"It sounds like a good plan." she said.

* * *

Tyler walked back to his motorcycle, which hadn't moved. He wheeled it out of the brush and tried to get it started. It didn't work. _Dammit. _He thought. After the fifth time, he still couldn't get it to start. Tyler growled angrily and found himself wheeling it back to his dad's place.

When he got there, he heard his dad, who was on the back porch, call, "I had a feeling you'd be back."

"My bike wouldn't work. Besides, I need to fill it up." Tyler said.

Joe walked inside the house to get the keys to the shed. Tyler leaned his motorcycle against it. While he was waiting for his dad he thought of Lisa and asked himself if he wanted to go home. The answer was no, he didn't. But Tyler had to prove to his mom, and Lisa, that he wasn't like his dad. Sure, his mom would probably yell at him and ground him for who knows how long. But wasn't learning that his girlfriend was a lizard punishment enough? That Lisa had waited until they were _this_ far in their relationship to tell him? _Jesus, everything would be so much easier if I had only known at the beginning! Then I wouldn't have my mom and girlfriend after me! Why the hell did she wait this long to tell me? That goes for my mom, too. She could have told me or something. But no. Because there is something with girls and secrets. Either they are the type that can't keep them, or can because they have too many of them. _Tyler thought. He was afraid of going back, but felt that it was better than sitting around and doing nothing. It didn't mean that he _wanted _to see Lisa. But a part of him missed her a little bit, it felt like he needed her. _Stop that crap. _He told himself. He didn't need Lisa. He was fine without her._ But you love her._ A voice whispered in his head. _Yeah, it doesn't mean I need her._ He thought. _Or so you think._ The voice said. _Yeah, yeah, whatever. Who are you, anyway? My conscience? Get out of my head._ Tyler thought. He thought of Finding Nemo for a moment. Wow, he really was insane. Finding Nemo, that sure came out of the blue. No, he wasn't insane. He was just... off balance. That was a good way to describe it. He was unbalanced.

Tyler's thoughts were interrupted by his dad, who walked toward him with a set of keys.

"I called your mom to tell her that you were going home. She sounded pissed." Joe said bitterly. Tyler stepped aside to let his dad unlock the door to the shed.

"Dad, I didn't mean what I said earlier. I was just still trying to process everything. I'm sorry." Tyler said.

"It's okay, bud." said Joe, pushing open the door and turning on the lights. Tyler walked in. Not much had changed. The floor was concrete with sawdust littering it, and the walls were wooden. One wall still had numerous shelves on it, containing various items. There were a bunch of vehicles in it, most of them motorcycles. Tyler noticed something different. One wall had a desk pushed against it, like the ones contractors have for drawing blueprints. Then above it was a map of the world, with red dots on different locations. Tyler walked up to it and read some of the cities. Los Angeles, Tokyo, Moscow, Paris, New York...

"Dad, what's this?"

"Each dot represents the place where a mothership is stationed."

"So it's kind of like your headquarters?"

"What were you expecting? That if you press a button it turns into a high tech facility?"

Tyler grinned,"Nope." He said.

As his dad filled up Tyler's motorcycle with gas, Tyler began to wonder if he would ever see him again.

"So when you say war, do you mean a full out, World War II type of thing?" Tyler asked, looking at him.

"It all depends, but yeah. Sometimes." His dad replied. Tyler nodded.

"So I might not see you again?" Tyler asked.

"Don't think that way. Of course you will, just as long as you don't get killed first." Joe said

"What makes you think I'd die first?" Tyler said, suddenly intrigued.

"You're rebellious, you don't follow orders or take peoples' advice. Things like that will get you killed. You have to always listen to others who are in a higher rank than you are. Just make sure that you trust them first." Joe explained.

"Okay." Tyler said.

"Well, that'll keep her going for a while. Enough to get you home, at least." Joe said, putting the red gasoline can back on the shelf.

"Thanks dad." said Tyler as Joe put the red gasoline tank back on the shelf.

"You're welcome." Joe said. Tyler walked up to his dad and hugged him.

"Get going before your mom has a fit." Joe said, hugging him back briefly. Tyler let go of his dad and put up the kickstand on his bike.

"No helmet?" His dad asked.

"Don't worry. I have a pretty thick skull." Tyler said.

"See you later, kiddo. Watch yourself." Joe said.

"Bye, dad." Tyler replied, wheeling his bike out of the shop. He put in the key and turned the ignition, begging that it worked, which it did. Tyler smiled, got on his bike, and tried to push away the fear in his chest as he began the long road home.

**A/N: I bet you think that everything is going to be good now, right? That he isn't going to get in a crash or anything, right? Well, the only way to find out is to click the button that says 'Next Chapter' on it. But before you do, could you click that little blue button below this author's note? Yeah, the one that says 'Review This Story'. Thanks, you're the best.**


	6. Homecoming

**I don't own a Green Card (I'm a nationalized citizen), anything related to V, Saving Private Ryan, Red Dawn (I hear they're doing a remake, and I really want to see it), or James Cameron's Avatar. **

**The opinions expressed in this chapter are Hobbes' and Sid's. So don't get mad at me for anything that _they_ say, because _they_ said it, not _me_.  
**

"Nothing hurts as bad the second time."

After hearing about the plan, Lisa began to get a little bit excited. Then she realized, what was the point? She stared at the large screen as Hobbes and Sid started discussing battle strategies; which quickly turned into a heated debate about war movies. Lisa tried to block them out.

She had lost motivation because Tyler was gone. He was the reason she decided to fight in the first place, because she cared about him and wanted to protect him. The only reason she had come here was because she needed somewhere to go. That and it made her feel safe, but her feeling safe was different from her feeling complete. She was still going to stick to her word, if he didn't come back within a few weeks she was going to hunt him down, like a Tracker would. It would take a while, but at least she would be able to find him. Unless he masked his scent with another womans'. The thought made Lisa want to hurt him, badly. _If Tyler did something like that, he will be sorry that he ever met me in the first place. The ignorant, anarchistic, low-life, cheating, vile, son of a-  
_

"I'm telling you, Red Dawn is the best war movie ever. It was just... awesome." Hobbes said, causing Lisa to be distracted.

"Nah, I personally think that Saving Private Ryan was better." Sid said.

"No, no, no. Red Dawn was a _much _better movie than that load of bull." Hobbes said.

"Please don't even start... Nothing can compare with Saving Private Ryan's opening scene. _Nothing_. Although I think James Cameron's a better director."

"Oh, wow! James frikin' Cameron! Yeah, he's such a great director! He copied everything in that stupid Avatar movie! He copied the Smurfs, gave 'em growth hormones, and tatooed them. Then he copies the whole war between our people and the Indians when we first came to America-"

"You're British, not American."

"I was talking about the British... Sailing over here to get away from their crappy government... Then the Indians getting all hyped up because we just wanted a piece of their land... So they started trying to kill us, but our weapons were too advanced for them... So they died... and _now_ since our ancestors beat their sorry little asses, they get to _feed_ off of _our money_ that we work _hard_ for."

"You're _British_! Not _American_!"

"I have a _Green Card_! For God's sake, Sid! So I'm a partial American!"

"No one can be a partial American."

"Oh yeah? Then why are black people considered _African-American_?"

"You know, you do have a point there."

"Yeah, I do! They copy the Indian-American stories all of the time! What the hell are you laughing about?" Hobbes asked Sid, who had begun laughing. Hobbes gave Sid a weird look then looked at Lisa as if to say 'What did I say?' Lisa shrugged and began to grin as Sid laughed harder and began leaning on the table for support so he didn't fall on the floor.

"What did I say? Sid, what's so funny?" Hobbes asked, a bewildered expression on his face.

"You... just... said.. the most... m-most funniest thing," Sid said in between laughs. "and... you don't even... k-know... w-what's so..."

"What did I say?" Hobbes repeated, beginning to sound annoyed. But eventually, he began to laugh, too. Lisa stared at them curiously. Humans were sometimes so spontaneous that it was scary. They were so different from her own kind, which was why Lisa loved them. People began to glance or stare at Sid and Hobbes, who kept laughing as if they were under some type of spell. After they had calmed down enough to talk, Hobbes asked him what was so funny.

"Well, you said that people always copy the war between the Indians and the Americans and I was laughing because we're living one.V's are like the Americans, with their advanced awesome high tech stuff, and we're like the Native Americans." Sid said. Hobbes and him began to laugh again. Hobbes laughed harder than before, now that he understood the joke. Lisa looked at them and began to smile.

"See? I even got Lisa to laugh." Hobbes said. Sid laughed again.

"She's not laughing."

"Well, it's about all we can get out of her." Hobbes said.

"Are you saying I'm unable to laugh?" Lisa asked.

"No, I'm just saying... well... Given your situation at the moment and that-" Hobbes started but was unable to finish because his phone rang. Hobbes sighed and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Oh hey, Erica."

"What do you mean that you can't come over? We are on the brink of a very important, monumental discovery."

"No, not really." Hobbes said. Lisa tried to listen in on what Erica was saying. She thought she had heard _his_ name but she might have been wrong.

"Oh, really," Hobbes replied, suddenly seeming interested. "Okay. Bye."

Hobbes shut the phone and turned to Lisa.

"Told you he'd come back. Like a scared little puppy dog. Couldn't stay away from his owner." he said. Lisa stared at him, partially confused.

"What?" Lisa asked.

"You heard me, Princess Buttercup. Your dearest Wesley returned." Hobbes said.

"I don't believe you." Lisa whispered.

"Your loss," Hobbes said. "I remember how bad it was when... Nevermind... Sid! We have to start on these battle plans or else Erica's going to kill us." Hobbes said, changing the subject quickly and turning back towards the table.

Lisa wondered if she should believe him. She decided to wait a while before she went to Tyler's house.

* * *

He knew that he was dead before he walked through the door. Tyler reached his hand out toward the handle but then scratched his head and groaned. He couldn't tell if his mom was home or not, but he had a feeling that she was. If he knocked, would she go easier on him? If he knocked it would be a sign to her that he thought that he wasn't worthy enough to call this house his home. No, he was thinking things through too much. It felt like it was minutes before he finally just opened the door and walked inside.

No sign of his mom. Maybe he could make it up to his room before his mom saw him. Tyler dashed past the living room and made it a fourth of the way up the stairs when he heard his mom slowly draw out his name.

"Tyler Joseph Evans." She said it slowly, it was a threat. Tyler's heart pounded in his ears. He slowly turned around and walked down the stairs and into the living room. His mom was in the kitchen, drumming her fingers on the counter. He held his breath and waited for her to start screaming at him, but she didn't.

"Sit down." she said, glaring at him. _Oh God, it's the death glare_. Tyler walked toward the couch and took a seat.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked. He thought of replying,'Well, you should know.' But decided that now wasn't the time for back talking. Tyler didn't respond.

"I asked you something, now you better answer it before I get really pissed."

"I... I don't know."

Erica smiled and let out a sarcastic laugh,"Oh, you don't know? That's exactly right. You _don't_ know. You don't know at all. You don't know how worried I was about you? Or what you did to Lisa? That actually pisses me off a whole hell of a lot more than you not calling me."

"I tried but my phone died. I-"

"You don't know what the hell you did to that girl, Tyler! you don't know wha-"

"What the hell are you talking about? My god, mom! Calm down! Stop being a bitch! I didn't do anything to hurt her."

Erica bit her lip and looked like she was going to slap him. Tyler straightened up.

"Goddammit, Tyler! You don't know_ ANYTHING! _You're so STUPID sometimes, I wonder if the V's tampered with your brain or something when you were younger! YOU DON'T GET IT, TYLER! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT...WHAT MEMORIES AND DREAMS AND EMOTIONS YOU MADE ME REMEMBER THAT I HAD MEANT TO NOT REMEMBER! AND YOU HONESTLY DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU MADE LISA FEEL LIKE! THE FEELING, THE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON YOU CARED ABOUT MOST ISN'T COMING BACK-"

"OH YEAH? WHAT ABOUT WHEN LISA BROKE UP WITH ME? IT'S PAYBACK FOR WHAT SHE MADE ME GO THROUGH!"

"OH MY GOD, YOU ARE AN ASSHOLE! AND _JUST_ LIKE YOUR FATHER!"

"THAT'S WHY I CAME BACK! TO PROVE TO YOU THAT I'M NOT LIKE DAD! I MEAN JESUS CHRIST, MOM! YOU'RE SPAZZING AT ME AND WON'T EVEN LET ME EXPLAIN! I MEAN... WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE IF DAD WAS A LIZARD? DON'T START SCREAMING AT ME ABOUT SOMETHING WHEN YOU WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME EXACT, GODDAMNED THING! JUST RELAX! I KNOW I SHOULD HAVE CALLED BUT WHAT THE HELL DOES A PERSON DO WHEN SOMEONE TELLS THEM THAT? JUST SAY 'OH, IT'S OKAY. I STILL LOVE YOU'?"

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO LEAVE! YOU ALWAYS RUN AWAY FROM YOUR PROBLEMS, TYLER! YOU ALWAYS HAVE!"

"Yeah... I have. People deal with things different ways. I run away, so does dad, and you... you cry behind the kitchen counter and bury yourself in your work." Tyler said softly.

"Get in the car." Erica whispered.

"Why?"

"It's time that you were part of the Resistance. Get in the car. _Right now_."

Tyler nodded and headed towards the door, Erica following close behind him.

* * *

Lisa began to walk up to Tyler's house, but stopped when she heard the door open. _Tyler._ He came back. He really did come back. _Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, Tyler. _His name bounced around in her head. Part of her wanted to tackle him with a hug and kiss him; then, when thinking of how she felt last night, another part of her wanted to punch him.

They stayed rooted in their positions, neither Lisa nor Tyler moved a muscle. Maybe it was just her, but Lisa couldn't hear a thing. Everything was quiet. As if the world was holding their breath. No, it had to be her. It was impossible for New York to be quiet. They just stood staring at each other. She didn't care about anything in the world except the one person standing in front of her. She searched his deep blue eyes and saw something that Lisa hoped she would never see when he looked at her. It was fear. Her heart hurt again when she looked into his eyes. But oddly, it didn't hurt as bad.

She decided to wait for him to make the first move, to either step towards her or back away. It seemed like hours passed between them. Lisa wanted to touch him, just to make sure that he really was there and wasn't a hologram. But she restrained herself from doing so. Was it possible that he was waiting for her to make the first move? If she stepped forward he would back away, but if she backed away would he step forward? Lisa noticed that he was watching her every move the way his eyes had a slightly wild look to them. Lisa didn't know what to do. She suddenly found herself whisper his name. Tyler's eyes had a more focused look to them, indicating that he had heard her.

"Lisa." he whispered. She loved the sound of his voice. Lisa took a step back, beginning to retreat. Tyler hesitantly took a step forward, then back again. Lisa slowly backed away, and Tyler watched her every move as if she were a fearsome creature waiting to rip his throat out. Still watching her, Tyler inched his way to the car. Lisa saw Erica walk out the door and lock it behind her. Erica looked at Lisa and motioned for her to come with them. Well, this certainly was going to be the most awkward car ride she had ever experienced.

* * *

In the car, Tyler had pushed himself as far away from Lisa as humanly possible. He didn't want to be anywhere near her, because she scared him. Tyler had never thought that he would have a girlfriend that would scare him this bad. No, he wasn't scared, he was terrified. Tyler had a churning feeling in his stomach and he wondered if he would be sick. He also felt unusually hot, but he always felt that way around Lisa.

He sat on one side in the backseat, and she sat on the other. They both stared out the windows and pressed themselves to the doors, wanting to be as far away from each other as possible. _Holy crap, this is the most awkward car ride I have ever experienced. I feel like I'm being driven to a military school or a prison. Well, I don't really know what to expect from this Ares place. Ares, like the Greek god of war, right? _Tyler busied his mind with things such as this to get Lisa out of his head. He tried to make himself look smaller, too. All he wanted was for the car ride to be over. He also half expected Lisa to jump him or something. The car ride felt so long, he didn't even know how long it took to get there, and Tyler was feeling sicker and sicker with every passing minute. He tried harder than ever to distract himself. He felt like a kid because he was playing the license plate and alphabet game, but at least it kept him occupied.

When they finally got there, Tyler followed Lisa and his mom down a flight of stairs into an underground bunker. _Whoa! Awesome headquarters._ Tyler thought, taking in all in. It wasn't as impressive as the inside of a spaceship, but still cool. The place looked like one of those superhero headquarters. Firstly, there was a big screen in the front of the room which reminded Tyler of an I-MAX, except it was't showing any movies. The screen had a bunch of different stuff on it, ranging from maps to graphs. Then there were a lot of computers. Some people were huddled around them, or a single person would be on one.

Tyler watched as faces passed him by and he wondered how many of them were lizards underneath. He saw one face which made chills go through him. _Shit! It's the priest! uh... quick escape, quick escape... Dammit, I gotta get out of here._ Tyler backed away slowly, then turned and dashed back up the stairs and out the door. His mom was right, he always ran away from his problems.


	7. Words of Wisdom

"Take old people's advice because they know what they are talking about."

That was the worst car ride that Lisa had ever experienced. It hurt as she saw him cringe away from her, pushing himself as far away from her as possible. She wondered for a moment in what way she could get him back the quickest, so they could look upon this moment in time as frivolous memories. Lisa pushed herself away from him, forcing herself to not get close to him at all, or even look at him for that matter. Lisa went through each and every thing she had learned about how to get a boy to like you. If she chased him, he would run. Lisa remembered a time when Tyler had chased her, and the game they played. Well, at least _she_ thought it was a game, for a little while. Lisa pushed the thought away and went on to other ideas. If she flirted with him, he wouldn't flirt back. If she made him jealous... Well, that could work. But then he would most likely try to make _her_ jealous as well, resulting in a love square, which Lisa wanted to avoid if possible. She could let Tyler come to her. Lisa could ignore him, not speak to him, and act like he didn't exist. It would be the harder of the other three, but probably have the most satisfying of results.

Lisa thought of this as they walked down into the Aires Project base. Then she heard a door open and close behind her. Lisa whirled around and realized that Tyler wasn't there. She wondered what he was running from then she saw Father Jack walking towards them. Lisa tried to hide the smile forming on her lips. Erica turned around to see where Tyler went.

"Where did he go?" Erica whispered harshly.

"Out the door." Lisa whispered back.

Father Jack, who had seen Tyler run, walked over and told Erica that he'd handle it. Erica nodded as he brushed past them and Lisa stifled a laugh and wished she could see Tyler's face right now.

* * *

Tyler would definitely have to put today as one of his best. First his mom gets pissed at him and spazzed worse than Brandon when he saw a squirrel. Secondly, he had the worst car experience ever. Now thirdly, he saw a priest who was Fifth Column and might not have even killed his friends _after_ Tyler had vandalized his office. _What else could happen? _He asked.

Tyler looked up at the ship as he stood outside the entrance to the underground bunker which was the Aires Project. The mothership, which had only a few days ago seemed like his home away from home, now seemed to be a warning of what was to come.

"It's funny how the most beautiful things can be the most deadly." said a voice behind him. Tyler looked down as he felt a warm wave of embarrassment wash over him. He vaguely knew the voice. Tyler looked ahead as he spoke.

"You didn't kill them did you?"

"No. The V's did."

"I... I'm so sorry for... everything. I don't want you to forgive me for what I did. I don't deserve it."

"Only God can grant forgiveness."

"He'd strike me by lightning before I got on my knees to pray."

"Well, he didn't when you vandalized my office."

Tyler ignored the pang of guilt in his chest.

"Yeah, I guess that's true," Tyler said, then turned to look at Father Jack. "I don't believe in God."

Tyler waited for Father Jack to start yelling and preaching to him about how if you didn't believe in God, you'd go to Hell, or ask him how he didn't believe in God and all that. But instead, Father Jack asked him something.

"And what makes you think that way?"

"I don't know... He hasn't really given me the best of things. My family life's screwed up, my girlfriend's a lizard who has a mom that's trying to conquer the world. After my motorcycle crash, I felt broken. Like He abandoned me. Nothing good happened after it. I feel like an asshole."

"Most people your age are. They don't mean to be, but they are. You kids think we don't understand you, but you don't give us enough time to figure you out. You think that we can understand you in a split second, but we don't. If you talk to people and give them enough time, eventually you can understand each other. You have to find something to relate to first, though. Then you blame your parents when it's your own fault. But, everyone blames other people because they don't want to admit that they did wrong. It's better to accept what you did than to blame someone else for it."

"I feel kinda bad about running from Lisa,but... not really. There wasn't much else to do."

"Everyone handles things differently."

"That's what I said."

"Yeah. Do you feel like you've treated Lisa well?"

"No. No, I am an asshole and treat people like shit when I take out my anger on them. Then I ignore them. If you just saw her eyes when I looked at her today... It was so creepy. It seemed like there were a million things going through her head. Like she couldn't decide something important mixed with a shocked expression. I'll admit that I'm scared of her. She really does scare me, but I don't know if I'm _not_ supposed to be afraid of her or what. I can't be around her anymore without freaking out and feeling like I'm gonna be sick."

"I don't think it's bad that you're afraid of her, but... Well, it's like this. If she was burned in a fire and didn't look the same, if she was disfigured and scarred and was on life support, what would you do?"

"Psh, take her off it! She wouldn't want to live like that!"

"You know what I mean. If she was disfigured and burned, what would you do?"

"I can't just leave her, and I still love her, but... There'd always be that... rift. Maybe one day I can get over her being a lizard, but I- I don't know if I should break up with her or stay together. But she deserves better than me."

"That's interesting what you're doing there."

"What?"

"You're using humbleness to get away from your problems. You think you're doing a good thing by saying that when in fact you want to get away from her."

"No! I don't mean forever, just until..."

"When? She runs off with some V?"

Tyler was silent for a minute.

"Why don't you try it sometime? Try falling hard for an amazing girl... then find out she's a V," Tyler said. "Oh wait, you're a priest so I guess-"

"Not anymore."

"What?"

"I just... stood up for the Fifth Column and got my collar taken away."

"Must suck for you. Do you miss it?"

"Not as much as I thought I would."

"That's good, I guess."

"Yeah. So, do you need any more advice on anything?"

"Yeah. My mom spazzed at me today when I came home and I began to see that I haven't really treated her as well as I should be."

"Yeah you should have. You've made her pretty upset these past few weeks."

Tyler's heart sank slowly. He felt like a puppy that did something bad.

"Ya."

"But, there's always a chance to start again."

"No there's not. Not really, because you can't undo things. You can only cover them up."

"I didn't say that you were able to undo it, just that you are able to get a second chance. Most people don't get second chances, but when you do, you put it to good use."

"Do V's have time machines? Because if they did, we could all go back and do things over."

"I don't think time travel's the best option for changing things. When you do, you always end up screwing up the future."

"Oh, I didn't think about that... I can't just apologize to my mom because she won't forgive me."

"Then prove it to her. Help out more around the house or something."

"Maybe, but my mom tends to hold grudges."

"I know, I still think she's mad at Ryan. But you're her son, she'll forgive you easier."

"Do I want to know what Ryan did to her?"

"Oh, he didn't do anything to her, but he just disrupted a mission that could have made life a lot easier for us."

"Oh... Have I ever done that?"

"In a different way, yeah you have."

"Sorry."

"You can make up for it by joining us. There is no neutral position in this war."

"I don't know what to believe. I'm leaning towards your side, but then I start thinking what if it's all a trap."

"That's the devil in you."

"I'm an Atheist, I don't believe in devils or Gods or holy water or anything like that."

"No you're not. You don't believe in God, but you're not an Atheist."

"How do you know?"

"I can tell. A non believer would let you speak your mind about God, an Atheist doesn't want to hear it."

Tyler nodded then asked,"Why... would God send them? The V's, I mean. Is it, according to your Bible, the end of the world?"

"Well, I don't know what to tell you, Tyler. But, I think God sent The V's to remind us who we are as humans. We have become so blinded by the politics, and Hollywood, and the greed of the world. We need to remember who we really are, and what we stand for. Go back to our core values. Bond together, not stand alone. But I think that he put you and Lisa together for a reason. Maybe it's because you're deeper than most people."

"Ha ha ha... That's a good one. Deeper than most people? You kidding me? You saw the way I vandalized your office! I... I feel like there's too much anger in my soul. If I even deserve to have one. I just wish that the anger could stop. I feel so out of control and...lost."

"We all feel lost at times, Tyler. And of course you have a soul."

"It sometimes doesn't feel like it. God abandoned me. He's done nothing to prove to me that He's real."

"You can't even think of one?"

"No, not really. How do you even know that there's a God? How do you _know_? You all preach about Jesus this and Jesus that... But where's the proof?"

"Do you really think that Lisa fell for you just by chance? That she accidentally is the High Commander's daughter?"

"That's not God, that's fate."

"And who controls that?"

Tyler restrained himself from rolling his eyes. _Dammit, he's got me cornered._ Tyler didn't answer.

"Think about it, why would something like that happen? If she didn't meet you, would she be Fifth Column? And if she wasn't Fifth Column, wouldn't we all be dead?"

"I guess... maybe."

"What I'm trying to say is... How can these scientists explain that the whole world was made out of a random explosion? How everything can be made of formulas of atoms. It just doesn't make sense to me. I don't see how there can be nothing after this life. We can't live then die and go nowhere after death because why would we be put on this earth without having a meaning? How can we just live then die and there not be a reason afterwards? All of the choices you've made and everything you've done in your life has to add up to something. It can't just boil down to nothing."

Something stirred in Tyler. Something he hadn't felt in a long time. It could be true, maybe. No it wasn't. God didn't exist. He never did, He never will. God was just like the fantasy land that you lived in as a kid, not real.

"Thanks for the confession, Father." Tyler said.

"What do you mean? No. You have to be in a confessional and a baptized member of the Church before I can give it to you. I didn't give you Confession." Father Jack stated.

"Yes you did." Tyler said as he began to walk towards the entrance to the Aires Project bunker. He felt more calm, probably because he was beginning to clear things up after leaving them in the dirt. Maybe Father Jack was right, he was getting a second chance.


	8. Not Alone

**I slap floor is the same thing as April Fools except all jumbled up, so if you** **were confused about that, I just wanted to clear it up. Also, I would have updated sooner, but I've had a bad case of writers block. **

**Sorry about lying that I wasn't going to continue the story. Don't skin me or shove one of those incineration pills down my throat. (Although I wonder if I would choke or burn to ashes first) I'm sorry if I made anyone mad for any reason. **

"You are never truly alone. There is at least always one other person who thinks the way you do."

After Lars and Hobbes filled Erica in on the plan that was to be set in a month, Lisa set her own plan in motion. She told Erica goodbye and gave her back the bag she had let Lisa borrow. The last thing Lisa wanted was to go back up on the ship, but she might as well get away from Tyler as soon as possible. Then she wouldn't have to deal with wanting to be close to him. He would be happier without her there. Lisa's heart sank. He _would_ be happier without her here.

She felt so many bad emotions, and none of the good ones. It used to be the opposite, where there were more good emotions than bad ruling her life. All of it was because of _him_. She swore this human boy was going to be the death of her. If she wasn't found out to be Fifth Column first. No, it would still be his fault. If he hadn't made her fall in love with him, she would be perfectly fine and not have to worry about anything. Lisa's assignment with Tyler would be done, and... and he would either be broken hearted or dead. She would be absolutely miserable, but she wouldn't know it because she wouldn't have emotions.

No emotions was something she had at first considered better than hurting, but was it really? Was it better to hurt than to feel numb? Love came with hurting, happiness with sorrow, and peace with worry and anxiety. Why did there have to be a bad emotion for every good one? Humans seemed to live with it. If they lived with these emotions for the rest of their lives, then Lisa could, too.

* * *

When Tyler walked back into the bunker, his mom walked over to him.

"Come on. I want to introduce you to the other Fifth Columnists."

"Nooooo," Tyler said, cautiously. He was drained of energy from the frenzy of the past twenty-four hours. Everything was buzzing around in his head. It felt like he was having a mental hangover, if that was possible. All Tyler felt like doing was going home, taking a shower, and crawling into bed. "Can I do this tomorrow or something? I want to go home." he pleaded.

"No. It'll take five minutes. I promise." Erica said.

"Fine." Tyler said. Five minutes wasn't that bad.

They walked over to a group of people. The first guy he saw looked like he could be a retired terrorist. He had black hair and intense eyes that matched the grimace he wore on his face. He looked familiar. Where had he seen him before? The guy next to him had a cool looking mustache with brown hair. He looked somewhere in his sixties. Maybe mid fifties, or just his fifties. Tyler spotted a person sitting and typing something into the computer. He had short blonde hair and looked younger than the rest of the group. Not as young as Tyler, but young compared to his mom.

"This is Kyle Hobbes, Lars Tremont, and that's Sydney Miller. Kendrick and Chris are around here somewhere."

"I'm Tyler." he said, introducing himself. Tyler held out his hand for Hobbes to shake it, who looked down at his hand, then back up at Tyler. _Uhhh... okay. Don't know what that's all about._ Tyler thought. At least Lars shook his hand, and Sydney put his hand up as a hello gesture.

"So... what is all of... this?" Tyler asked.

"Fifth Column database. We can communicate with several countries worldwide. We're stocked with every single type of gun, knife, bow and arrow, and whatever other type of weapon you can think of. So if you're a spy for the V's, you're in big trouble. But, I have a feeling that you mean well. You still have that... look on your face. Sid, you wanna give the kid a tour?" Lars said.

"Uh huh. One sec. I'm just trying to finish this research thing about how the covalent bond of an atom is equivalent to that of a- " Sid began, but was cut off by Hobbes.

"Science Boy."

"Yeah. Okay I'll give Tyler a tour. Jeez, Hobbes, keep your pants on." Sid said, standing up and exiting out of his research project.

"No promises." Hobbes said jokingly.

"Perv," Sid muttered. "Come on." Sid said, gesturing for Tyler to follow. He realized that he hadn't seen Lisa anywhere, which was slightly a relief to him. He hadn't realized she was there because been too distracted with the whole database thing. Tyler shivered when he suddenly wondered how many of these people were human, and how many were reptiles.

* * *

_Oh great. Who the hell does this guy think he is? Wants to play with the big boys, does he? God, how did Reptile Princess fall for... _that_?_ Hobbes wondered. He disliked Tyler immediately. This kid was just like the rest of them his age. Worthless, lazy, thought the world revolved around them and everything was theirs and all that bull. Hobbes could tell the kid was a jackass who didn't know what the hell he was doing, or what he had done. He probably had the mental capacity of a child. A little puppy dog blindly following it's master that didn't know whether to tear up the couch or pee on it. Hobbes was disgusted with him. Then on top of that, the dickweed ruined Jackie's reputation. Since that Padre was such a softie and wouldn't get revenge on this brat for all he has put the Fifth Column through, it looked like Hobbes was going to have to do it himself. This kid was such a... whatever he was. This jerkwad was so horrid that Hobbes couldn't even think of a nickname bad enough for him. Hobbes just decided to call him numerous insulting names until he found out what annoyed Tyler the most.

Hobbes glared at Tyler when he held out his hand for him to shake. _What? The piss drinker wants to be all buddy buddy with the Fifth Column now? What a load of shit!_

Then Erica commanded the worst when Sid went to show Mr. Lizard Snogger around.

"I want you to train him. Start him off with the basics, then have him work his way up." she whispered. Hobbes looked her directly in her pretty blue eyes and simply said no.

"Kyle..." Erica started.

"Don't _Kyle_ me, Erica. I know his type, and I want _nothing_ to do with people like him." Hobbes harshly whispered back.

"Please. You're the only one of us who has at least a little free time."

"Well so does Lars, why can't he train him?"

"Because I think you'd be better for him. Lars will go too easy on him, and-"

"Since you failed to discipline him you want me to?"

Erica narrowed her eyes and Hobbes chuckled.

"You know I'm right." said he.

"Is that a yes, then?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's a yes. So you want me to turn him into a soldier then?" Hobbes asked.

"No. Just... train him. I'm not sure what we're going to do with him yet." replied Erica.

"As you wish." Hobbes said.

The gears in his head were already starting to turn. This was going to be more fun than Hobbes thought. He gets to kick a whiny, hormonal kid's ass the way he wanted to. Oh, the hell this bastard was going to go through. He wants to be a Fifth Columnist? Fine, but he'd have to prove it first.

* * *

Lisa cleared her face of all emotions as she walked into her mother's office and stood with her hands behind her back. There was always a hint of fear inside of Lisa whenever she came here because she was always vulnerable to being exposed as a Fifth Columnist.

"You wanted to see me?" questioned Lisa.

"Yes. Joshua has informed me that Tyler has fallen ill and refuses to go to the Healing Centers to be treated properly." said Anna, turning around to face Lisa.

"He refuses to go because he believes that he will be better soon and he would rather stay sick than go to school." Lisa explained.

"A typical human. Keep an eye on him, feign your concern for his well-being." Anna said, turning back around and staring out the window.

"Yes mother." Lisa said, turning to leave her mother's office.

"And Lisa, you are scheduled to see Joshua in the Medical Bay." Anna said, causing Lisa to stop.

"Why?" she questioned calmly.

"The last round of empathy tests were flawed, so they were redesigned to be more accurate." Anna explained briefly. Lisa's heart skipped a beat. She bit back the fear in her stomach, nodded slowly, and began to walk to the Medical Bay.

* * *

"Is that Hobbes dude always an asshole?" Tyler asked as they walked down the hallway towards the armory.

Sid seemed to be a pretty cool guy, even if he was a science nerd. Sid had told him that a fourth of the Aires Project (which Tyler had learned was spelled A-I-R-E-S, Not A-R-E-S like the god of war. Although Tyler thought that Ares would have been a tougher name for the organization) was used for storage and could be used as a fallout shelter if the V's decided to go all nuclear on them.

"No. He is at first, but he'll eventually warm up to you."

"So, are you a lizard, too?"

Sid laughed.

"No. I'm human. Lars, Hobbes,Chris, and Kendrick all are, too. It kind of makes the majority of us down here."

"I'm still... having a hard time believing it."

"Yeah, it'll be that way for a while."

"Do you ever get used to it?"

"What?"

"Hanging out with a bunch of lizards? I mean, would you ever date one?"

"Oh yeah, that's right. Your girlfriend was..."

"Yeah."

"Well...you get used to it. And I guess that I would date one, if she was hot enough and on the good side. But I don't really have time for girls. With college and this whole Fifth Column thing."

Tyler nodded knowingly.

"How long does it take to get used to it?" Tyler asked.

"I don't know. It's different for everyone." said Sid. Tyler sighed and looked behind him. He had the feeling some random V was going to jump him. Then he thought of something that he hadn't before. It made him almost gag.

"Eww." he said.

"What?" Sid asked.

"I just realized... if V's have a human suit thing, how do you know if you've been dating an eighteen or nineteen year old? How do you know that you haven't been dating a fifty year old?" Tyler asked, his voice dripping with disgust. _If I've been making out with a dead body put onto a seventy year old V I swear to God..._ Tyler's thoughts trailed off._  
_

Sid grinned.

"Well. They're not really suits. In non-scientific terms, they're... Well, they replicated human DNA, so they didn't abduct someone and skin them. Their outer skin is completely organic, and it's quite remarkable how they were able to lace it with their reptilian skin."

"Huh?"

"They put it on the V's when they're younger, and it becomes a part of them. It laces with the molecular bonds of their scales. Like a second skin. So when the V's grow, so does the skin. I think that their hair grows, too but I don't see how it could, considering they don't have hair follicles. I don't have much range in that subject, either. So if you cut their hair I think it would be able to grow back, but I haven't tried it. But anyway, their skin wrinkles as they grow older, but I think if they didn't want to get wrinkles they wouldn't have to because of how futuristic their technology is. Oh, and about Lisa... I bet she's around your age."

"Yeah. She wouldn't have... Every time I think of the V's being evil, I mean I _know_ that they are, I just still want to think of them as good."

"I know how you feel. You just have to ask yourself where you feel more comfortable, up in the clouds or down on the ground. Don't worry, though. You'll figure it out. Well... This is one of our artillery storage facilities. We have a few of these scattered throughout the bunker. I should warn you not to touch anything, because Hobbes turns into a Sherlock Holmesish guy if you touch any of his guns or knives." Sid said, punching in a code on the side of a metal door which looked like a vault, which was beginning to rust.

The door opened with a creak and Tyler gaped at the armory. It had pretty much every type of gun you could think of hanging on one rack, and many different types of torchure devices on the opposite one which included tazers, nunchucks, and a bunch of other creepy looking weapons that Tyler didn't even want to know what they'd do to you. The wall in front of him held shelves of knives and swords. The armory was big, but not extremely big.

"This is awesome."

"This is nothing. This room is used for emergencies, in case we get attacked. Besides, it's only the beginning of the armory. It goes into different rooms."

"How big is this whole Aires Project?"

"About a quarter the size of Manhattan."

"Jesus. How many miles is that?"

"Five point six hundred seventy five square miles."

"Wow. That's..."

"Big."

"Yeah. How much of it is artillery?"

"Probably two... three miles."

"Holy shit."

"I know, it's a pretty big place."

"_Pretty_ big? It's huge! What kind of artillery do you have in this place?"

"You name it."

"A V shuttle."

"Not as many as we'd like to have."

"Yeah? Show me."

"No can do. I don't have the code. Lars does, though. But I doubt he'll give it to you. "

"Aww... that sucks."

"I'm not really a shuttle person, or one for flying. I think Hobbes or Chris or Kendrick might know what it is, but I'm not sure. Maybe if you get on one of their good sides then one of them will give it to you."

Tyler laughed.

"Yeah, like I'll ever be on Hobbes' _good_ side." Tyler said, shaking his head.

"He acts all tough, but I think he's really a softie on the inside." said Sid.

"I highly doubt that." Tyler said. Sid shrugged and proceeded to show him most of the rest of the bunker, except for the area where the shuttles and who knows what else were kept.

* * *

Lisa tensed when she stood in the doorway of the Medical Bay. She was going to die. She was going to fail, and die, and the last emotion she saw on Tyler's face was fear mixed with disgust. An image that Lisa was sure would be ingrained into her head as she was handed a pill. _The_ pill that would end her life. Lisa would try to bury her emotions for as long as she could during the test. Like she had tried to when Tyler left.

Joshua stood with his back to her as he evaluated an empathy test that must have been taken before her. He tapped the hologram and it disappeared. Lisa's heart rammed against her ribcage. She tried to keep her breathing at a normal level and calm herself down, but it wasn't working. Joshua turned around to face her. Lisa quickly scanned the room for any sign of a camera to be sure that it was safe to speak. No cameras, good.

"Why did you lie to me?" Lisa questioned.

"I didn't want you to be concerned about taking it. I have wondered if you were Fifth Column for some time now. Lie down." Joshua instructed, gesturing to a metal contraption she had laid on the first time she had taken this test. Lisa tried not to cry. The way he had spoken sounded almost evil. Lisa didn't know who to blame now. Her mother, Joshua, Tyler, or herself. She nodded and laid down as Joshua gave her two metal circles that she put on the sides of her temples.

Lisa watched the gruesome images on the screen. She tried to hide her emotions the best she could. To not think about it. She saw blood spurting from a human, organs hanging from a hook, experamentations that were too horrid to describe. Lisa tried to remain strong and build up walls to hide her emotions. To keep her face composed. Then the scene changed from gruesome to beautiful. Her mother was right, this was different than the last empathy test. Dewdrops on a red rose, a vivid rainbow, the sun shining through a misty forest.

The scene switched back suddenly to seeing someone be decapitated. What was the point? She had already failed. Lisa stopped fighting. She let every emotion pour through her body that came to her. Remorse as she saw a mother crying and clutching a young girl wearing a white dress. It seemed the girl had drowned in a creek. The scenery was so beautiful though. Pity and compassion as she saw a teenager slitting her wrists with a knife, then sinking to the floor as the color drained away from her face because of the lack of blood. Awe as the sun set on a beautiful beach.

Lisa was disgusted with the cruel ways of humans while seeing the limp form of a puppy partially buried beneath a pile of burning garbage. The reflection of mountains and trees on a lake and the sunset on dunes, making the sand look pink caused an emotion of wonder to go through her. More disturbing images that Lisa was sure she would have had nightmares about. A skinned human. The image almost caused Lisa to gasp, which luckily she didn't. A young man screaming in pain created cold chills to wrack her body. An explosion, sending different colors of red, orange, and yellow with hints of purple and blue to dance before her eyes.

The next image surprised Lisa. It was Tyler, with the sun shining behind him, making him look like a god. His eyes were the color of the sky after twilight, and sparkled with happiness. That goofy crooked smile that she loved so much. Every emotion roared through her like an ocean when she saw him. The empathy test ended. Lisa was greatful for whoever had the idea to put Tyler in at the end. At least she would have that much of Tyler to hold onto when she died. _If_ she died. Could she convince Joshua to save her life a second time? Lisa pondered on this as she took the metal circles off of ther temples and walked over to hand them to Joshua. Who was evaluating her score.

"You failed," Joshua said. Of course she did, how could she not. "I've never seen someone's scores this high before."

"I decided to stop fighting it. I already knew that I failed." Lisa said, tears blurring her vision. Joshua was silent. Lisa hastily blinked back the tears.

"What are you doing?" Lisa asked.

"Dulling your results." said Joshua.

"What do you mean by that?" Lisa was confused. Had she heard him correctly? That he was attempting to help her?

"I'm making your score seem lower than it is. I can't seem to make it as low as the normal V standards, your score will be higher than most that passed, but I'm sure your mother won't mind. Don't worry about it."

"Why are you trying to help me?"

"Because that's what we do. We watch each other's backs."

_"We_?"

"The Fifth Column."

How dare he play her for a fool. He was lying. Joshua hadn't changed. Or had he? No, there was no way that he could possibly...

"How?"

"How?"

"How did you become Fifth Column again?"

"After your mother assigned me to run more empathy tests, I did. She asked me to keep it quiet, so I did. The more people I tested, the more I realized that my memories were coming back to me. At first I ignored them, but then I began feeling. I've been Fifth Column for a few weeks."

"But during Bliss..."

"Only an act."

"I... I still don't believe you."

Lisa's mind buzzed. It couldn't be true. It was too good to be true. She guessed that she would find out during Bliss. She had to be careful what she was saying, in case it was all an act. Lisa changed the subject quickly.

"How are you able to change the results?"

"Well firstly, I realized as my memories came back to me, I also remembered my allies. As I was saying, a V on another ship who figured out how to... meddle, I believe is the term, with the empathy tests. It was quite remarkable, really as to how he did it. It took a lot of work and we all collaborated on it. Eventually we found a way that was much less time consuming which is what I'm doing now."

With him saying that, it was hard _not_ to believe him. Lisa walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. He stiffened, but gradually hugged her back. Lisa guessed that he wasn't used to being hugged. She smiled to herself. She wasn't alone up here anymore. Lisa felt calm and safe in Joshua's arms.

"I've felt so alone up here. I'm glad you're back, Joshua." Lisa said. He could still be lying, she knew. But there was something about how he moved and spoke to prove that he was telling the truth.

Later that day Lisa heard her mother's words. She felt a force that pressed against her. Bliss. She compelled slightly to give into the warm light, the peace. But her emotions created a barrier around her that protected her from being brainwashed. She heard footsteps behind her and froze.

She turned around and saw Joshua. He grinned and she smiled back. _You are not alone. __You will never be alone. _She remembered her mother saying. What her mother didn't know was how true those words were. Sort of odd how her mother had meant to use those words for her followers, but Lisa found that those words meant something to the Fifth Column, too.

**Author's Note: I actually really enjoyed writing from Hobbes' point of view. He reminds me so much of my dad. Except more terrorist like and British and... sadistic. (Anyone have a extremely horrible nickname for Tyler? I can't think of one bad enough.) **

**No, none of those horrific empathy test scenes happened to me or anyone I know.**

**Don't worry about Joshua and Lisa. Their relationship is _platonic_. Like it is in the _show._ (As for others who are supporters of that shipment... go ahead, flame if you think I should've put them together. I dare you.)**


	9. Between Nightmares and Starlight

**Well... I was proven wrong. Don't you hate it when you're wrong? No Season 3 for V. **

**Sorry I haven't updated. But it's summer now, so I'll be able to update quicker. **

**Anyway, I would like to thank my friend Hi There Smiley for helping me out with the dream sequence for this chapter. **

"We are not afraid of the dark. Only the things within it."

Tyler trudged up the stairs to his room half asleep. This had to be the longest day of his life. He felt physically, emotionally, and mentally drained. Like some vampire was sucking the life out of him. Speaking of being drained of energy, his mom had said that his first training session was after school tomorrow. _Woopdeedoodledoo._ For some reason the word training freaked him out as much as Lisa. It was probably because Hobbes was going to be his trainer. What did that guy have against him? Tyler had never done anything to him. Or had he done something that he thought was the right thing but ended up being the wrong thing? Like what happened with Father Jack, maybe.

Guilt was hanging over his head like clouds before a storm. Guilt because of his mom, who he had hurt, for Father Jack, who he had wrongly accused, and of course for Lisa, who he had ditched. Tyler thought of the night she had broken up with him. God, that night had sucked big time. Tyler quickly shuddered away from the thought. He laid on the top of his covers, not bothering to take off his shoes, and stared at the ceiling.

_Tyler finds himself walking down a sidewalk that looks like it's slanting. Everyone he passes are wearing Peace Ambassador jackets and have their eyes cast downward. Tyler casts his eyes downward as well and sees a line of chalk, like a kid would draw, leading into an alleyway. Tyler hears laughter and followes the line. It is white, but the more he stares at it, it begins to change into a light pink color, then pink, and it becomes darker and darker until he realizes that he's following a trail of blood. Tyler's heart jumps. He turnes around to go back, but sees a brick wall blocking his path. _Great. _He hears a little kid humming a song behind him._

_Tyler whirles around. He backes into the wall at what he sees. There is a little girl who looks around seven with light blonde hair in a white dress kneeling in front of a wall. She has painted a large bloody V in the middle of the wall that is decorated with handprints and what lookes like flowers. She doesn't have a paintbrush but uses her hands. What's worse is that Tyler can _smell _the blood. It's a combination of rust and salt and a slight coppery smell. He feels dizzy when he lookes at the ground and sees a person slumped against the wall a few feet from the girl, lying in a pool of blood. His heart beats faster as he watches the girl dip her fingers in the blood and continues to paint the wall. He then notices that in front of him are hop scotch squares and a crudely drawn smiley face in what looks like charcoal. A line of charcoal leads from the smile on the face to a heap in the shadows. Tyler realizes that the heap is a body, and a hand with charred fingers pokes out from the shadows. Adrenaline floods through him. Panic begins to take over his nerves. He tries to calm his breathing, but it only causes him to breathe faster which inceases his heart rate, causing him to become more frightened._

_"Hello," she says. __Tyler finds himself unable to speak, even if he was able to, what would he say? The girl giggles. It is a really creepy giggle. "Mommy'll be wondering where I am. Bye Tylee." _

_How in the hell does she know his name? The girl stands up to leave, then turnes to face Tyler. There are black sockets where her eyes should be, she doesn't have a nose, except for two slits that serve as nostrils. There's blood smeared across her face and dripping from the corner of her mouth. _

_"You- these people- they... why?" Tyler stammered. _

_The girl giggled again but this time her giggle sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and it echoed in his ears, making chills wrack his body. She began to melt into a pool of blood, like some invisible acid was deteriorating her body. _

_The blue sky suddenly turns to black clouds and gray snow begins to fall. No, not snow, ashes._

_"All you know is falling," The little girl whispers. Tyler shivers because it feels like she's whispering in his ear. "What makes you think you can stop it?" _

_Everything turns fuzzy around him. The next thing he knows, Tyler's standing in a field of black grass. Thunder rumbles overhead and lightning flashes. For a brief moment, Tyler is able to catch a glimpse of tombstones in a circle around him. He sees the names of everyone he's ever cared about engraved on the tombstones. _

_"That's right. You can't stop it. This isn't a comic book. This is life. They'll win. You lose. Name one thing you've gained in your life. That's right. You haven't gained anything, you've only lost. How long do you think it will be before you lose everything else?" _

_For some reason Tyler has a feeling that she's talking beyond the V's. The ground opens up beneath him, and he is falling. _

Tyler awoke frozen with fear and in a cold sweat. His heart was racing. Tyler relaxed slightly, happy that it was only a dream. His happiness was suddenly crushed when he realized that he was waking from one nightmare and falling into another. This life, real life, was a nightmare.

Tyler groaned, grabbed his iPod, and blasted heavy metal music in his ears. It hurt his ears, and he couldn't think because of the noise. Tyler turned it down a little, deciding it was better not to go deaf. He tried not to go to sleep, in fear of another dream like that again.

When he felt himself begin to drift off, Tyler ripped the earphones from his head, got out of bed and looked out the window. He saw the mothership looming over Manhattan a few miles away. All Tyler could do was think of Lisa, and wonder what she was doing. Was she sleeping? Or was she awake just as he was now? Tyler leaned his forehead against the glass. He never asked for aliens to come down and rain hell on Earth, never asked for this nightmare, he never asked to fall in love with an iguana. Iguana wasn't the right term, it made her sound like a pet. If anyone was a pet, it was Tyler. He looked up at the sky, but past the mothership and into the clouds, wishing he could see the stars.

* * *

Lisa couldn't sleep, but she wasn't tired. Not that she cared whether she slept or not. She sighed with annoyance as she sat on the edge of her bed. It seemed that she was beginning to care less, ever since she told Tyler the truth. But, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, either. Unless she stared feeling apathetic about the wrong things. Like the war. Yet, it seemed that was where things were heading. All of it was because of him. _He's just a boy. How can an idiotic boy have such an effect on you?_ Lisa asked herself, but she knew the answers. He was more than _just a boy_. And he was never supposed to have an effect on her. But he did, and that was why Lisa didn't know whether to blame him or her for this mess. She guessed it was both of them.

The more Lisa thought about it, the more she began to blame her mother. Her mother had told her to choose someone to make fall in love with her. Lisa hated her, she wanted to kill her. Her mother was beginning to push Lisa to the edge. She _could _kill her. Tonight. If only she could cause a diversion to distract the guards. She wouldn't need a weapon. What weapons she had was what nature gave her. A tail for slicing, claws for scratching, teeth for piercing. But it wouldn't work, not tonight. Besides, she wasn't quite ready to be queen yet. She wouldn't know how to rule.

Thoughts began to run through Lisa's brain on how to kill her mother. Lisa smiled to herself. Then the smile faded as she began to think how much like her mother she truly was becoming. Lisa pushed the thought away and walked toward the large bedroom window that moonlight flooded through.

Lisa looked up at the black sky, then looked at the stars and remembered when she had gone to Tyler's dads' house and spent the night. He had taken her outside and they had lain on the slightly damp grass and gazed at the stars. He told her how the ancient Greeks had come up with the idea of constellations and showed her the few that he knew, and told her their stories.

Lisa realized that their lives, hers and Tyler's, were so different. Where they excelled in the arts, her species excelled in science and technology. Their lives were almost opposite, but the same in a way. They were like two people who lived in the same place but came from seperate worlds.

_Of course, two people who come from different worlds, and a relationship based on lies and secrets is only destined to fail. _Lisa thought as a pang of hurt seemed to stab her. She wanted to fly away as she looked up at the sky and into the stars.

**Reviews...Constructive criticism... pretty pretty please with sprinkles on top? **


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